Book of Lin
by swiftkiss
Summary: Mei-Lin is a waterbender from the North Pole that joins up with Team Avatar toward the end of the first season and is in love with Zuko since she first met him. She never thought she would run into him again and this time as enemies. Story follows the show's timeline. Will eventually change rating to M once I am at the end of Book Three. Zuko x OC Please R
1. Bato of the Water Tribe

**Note: So there is no confusion this is where the story starts though it says Chapter 15. Everything that happened before on the show is still the same. This is where I chose the gAang meet Lin. **

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 15  
Bato of the Water Tribe**

Mei-Lin stirred the stewed sea prunes before replacing the lid on the hot cauldron. It had been awhile since Bato left to go stretch his legs and she wondered what was taking him so long. Just as she got comfy on a padded pillow her patient walked through the door followed by unfamiliar faces. "Ah Mei-Lin look who I found, these are Hakoda's children Sokka and Katara and with them is the Avatar, Aang."

Gracefully the black haired waterbender stood up to greet Bato's guests. She had heard many stories of Katara and Sokka before the Water Tribe Fleet left and was glad to put a face to the names. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Please sit and enjoy some supper." It was nice to be around people her age that she could talk to besides Bato and the nuns. Mei-Lin also couldn't believe that she was in the presence of the Avatar since no one had seen him for 100 years. She couldn't help but stare at the young boy in a quizzical manner. There were so many things that intrigued her about Aang such as his tattoos and the fact that he was just a kid who was to bring peace to their world.

The two teens from the Southern Water Tribe were ecstatic about how at home the hut felt with all sorts of trinkets from their tribe. It was only three from the south talking as they reminisced about stories from back home. Eventually Sokka paid attention to Lin which turned out to be the longest he ever ignored a girl. "Is she from the Water Tribe? I don't remember ever seeing her around." "That's because I am from the Northern Water Tribe" explained Lin. The travelers all stared at her wide eyed. "That's great! We are trying to get Aang to the North Pole so he can master water bending" Katara blurted out while eating some sea prunes. "I know the perfect person that could help. His name is Master Paku and he trains all the waterbenders" she tried to hide her dislike for the man as she said his name.

Sokka became more intrigued by the black haired girl and asked more questions. "So what are you doing here? How did you meet up with my father and everyone?" Lin swallowed the last of her meal before she spoke "Well I was travelling around and I heard that they made the best perfumes here. By the time I arrived the Fire Nation had already left. I stayed to heal who I could, but Bato's injury was more severe."

"Mei-Lin was kind enough to stay behind and be my nurse." Bato interrupted. "You can heal people?" Katara was curious about this new discovery.

"Yes some water benders have the ability to heal and I happen to be one of them."

"That's really cool!" Aang finally spoke as he was sitting in the corner silently since he arrived.

It didn't take long for the conversation to turn back to Hakoda. Lin sat out of the conversation just listening and laughing at their jokes as she watched Aang sneak out of the hut. Part of her wanted to go with him since she too felt like an outsider just observing, but Lin stayed so she wouldn't be rude to her guests.

After a long night of chatting everyone headed up to the beach to look at Bato's boat. Lin was more curious about the Avatar as he seemed to be jitterier than when he first arrived. It seemed like he was hiding something, but she didn't know him well enough to tell. Her mind had wandered with these thoughts that she didn't catch the conversation that was going on, something about ice dodging. Before long they were out on the water with Sokka at the helm.

Apparently ice dodging was a custom in the Southern Water Tribe and was a rite of passage that Sokka missed out on. Instead of dodging ice it was going to be rocks. Aang used his airbending to control the sails while Katara waterbended the waves to keep the boat out of harm's way. The northern waterbender had trouble controlling the water which caused Katara to ask "Do you not know how to waterbend?" "Not really. My expertise is healing and making some bubbles" Lin laughed.

It was a fun and thrilling experience although Lin wished she could have helped Katara waterbend the waves more. "Mei-Lin you bear the mark of the Brave" Bato marked her forehead with a crescent moon. It was the same mark Katara received as they both tried to keep the boat out of harm's way. It was a nice gesture on Bato's part to make Mei-Lin feel welcomed into the Southern Water Tribe.

After Aang received the Mark of the Trusted he belted out a confession. He had withheld the location of Sokka and Katara's father. Lin stood there confused as she witnessed friendships dissolving over the Avatar's betrayal. Both brother and sister thought it was best that they accompanied Bato towards their father's location. Soon it was only Aang and Lin left standing on the beach. "Aang, I'll go with you to the North Pole. You shouldn't have to go alone" the northerner gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He mumbled a "Thanks" and just kept staring at the sand in front of him.

As Lin and Aang were getting ready to leave on the air bison a nun ran towards them warning them that someone was after their friends. Aang whispered "Zuko" and signaled Appa to take off. Could Lin have heard him right? The Prince Zuko was looking for her friends. Her heart began to race as fast as Appa's flying.

Once the Avatar and Mei-Lin reached the temple they jumped off of Appa. Aang immediately took to his glider and started flying in circles. The healer could not believe how much damage the place took in the short while they were gone. A loud crash startled her as a huge beast broke through the gate, it was a shirshu. Lin caught a quick glance at Katara and Sokka on the back of the creature. Aang managed to knock his friends and their captor off the shirshu causing a huge dust cloud to stir up from the floor.

One of the riders, a black haired woman quickly recovered and re-saddled on the brown beast. Suddenly they were knocked down again by Appa. During the distraction Lin helped the nuns carry Sokka and Katara out of the battlefield. "Are you guys ok?  
What happened?" asked Lin already kneeling beside them. Katara was the one to answer, "That thing paralyzed us with its tongue." "Yeah now I'm all sticky, ughh, I need a bath" added Sokka.

"I think I can fix that." The black haired Water Tribe girl reached down at her side for her pouch of water. The water was bended onto her hands like gloves and she placed a hand on Katara and Sokka. She could hear the fighting behind her and buildings falling apart. Afraid to look back Lin just concentrated on making her new friends feel better. In a matter of minutes the two of them were able to move their arms around.

The healing process was disrupted when a hand grabbed her arm and dragged her away. To the right side of her face Lin could feel an intense heat coming from Zuko's hand. "Surrender Avatar! I captured the girl who can heal your friends. You wouldn't want her to get burned now would you?" Zuko sneered as Aang would have no other choice. During the battle he had caught a glimpse of her waterbending skills as was surprised to find out that waterbenders could heal. The prince wondered when the Avatar added a new member to his team.

Lin looked over her shoulder at Prince Zuko and could smell the sweet scent of white lotus flowers. He looked more handsome now than as the boy she first met, though she wondered how he got that scar on his face. Without thinking she leaned closer to him and whispered "Mmmm you smell nice, I wouldn't mind being your prisoner." She didn't mean to actually say the words aloud, but Lin couldn't contain herself. Zuko was taken aback as his cheeks turned red.

Was she flirting with him even though he just threatened her life? He didn't have a chance to take a good look at her, but he knew she wasn't a sight for sore eyes. The girl's most distinguished feature was her pale ice blue eyes that seemed to pierce through him. The fire in his hand extinguished. That was when Aang took his chance and attacked Zuko which sent him flying back. The firebender grew angry at himself for showing weakness in front of his enemy.

Part of Lin wanted to yell "Stop", but there was nothing she could do now, but return to her two patients. It wasn't long before they were back on their feet helping Aang fight. Katara came up with a plan by making the shirshu freak out by bombarding his nose with perfumes. In its fit of rage he paralyzed Zuko. Lin wanted to run to him and heal him, but that would make her look suspicious to her new friends, a traitor. He would probably be fine anyway when the paralysis wore off. The four heroes took this chance to board Appa and flee.

Once he was on his back paralyzed Zuko knew the fight was over. He knew he should have been angrier, but he couldn't stop thinking about her. Could someone like that really be interested in him by looks alone and with a scar? The Prince wanted to relish the moment that someone else besides his uncle showed some kindness to him. Speaking of his uncle he saw the old man lying next to him with June on top. "Uncle I didn't see you get hit with the tongue

In the air Lin couldn't help but look back and worry about Zuko. This was not how she had hoped their reunion would be like. Despite the fact that he was a firebender she never thought they would be enemies. She let out a small sigh. "You ok Mei-Lin?" Aang asked. "I'm fine, that was just crazy back there. Oh and call me Lin, all my friends do." "Alright, Lin. You still are offering to come to the North Pole with us?" "Sure Aang." "That was a great distraction back there. You threw Zuko off guard and even made him blush." Lin quickly looked down so that he wouldn't see her blushing. "Uh…oh yeah I can't believe that worked" the black haired girl forced a giggle. The young boy turned his attention to Katara and gave her a necklace, a necklace she recently lost. Lin knew it to be a betrothal necklace from her home land. She wondered if Katara knew that her grandmother had come from the Northern Water Tribe.


	2. The Deserter

**Note: I hope you like the story so far and don't think it's too cookie cutter. Little by little I will be making Lin stand out more since who isn't shy when they join a new group of friends? **

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 16 **

**The Deserter**

After a long time of flying deeper into the Fire Nation Aang and everyone decided to stop and look for a place to eat. Sokka was the hungriest of the bunch and made sure to make a stink about it. Katara slid off Appa to look at a board with a poster on it. As Lin joined her to take a closer look she could see it was for the Fire Festival. Lin had not been to one since she was a child and she remembered it fondly. It sounded like a good idea to go until Sokka noticed the wanted poster of Aang on the other side of the old wooden board. "This might be my only chance to learn firebending from the masters." Aang whined. "He does have a good point." Lin chimed in with her stomach growling right after. Katara begrudgingly gave in. "We'll wear disguises and leave at the first sign of trouble."

Lin was secretly hoping she would run into Prince Zuko, but that would probably be bad for all of them after what she encountered. She found a tattered old hooded robe to cover her Water Tribe clothes. It felt silly to put on a disguise but at the same time she could feel adrenaline rush through her veins, it was the fear of being caught. As soon as they arrived at the festival they realized how out of place they looked. Everyone was wearing red face masks. Sokka wondered where they could find some and quickly their prayers were answered. "Look over here!" The healing waterbender pointed out a stand that was selling masks.

They walked around the festival enjoying the sights and exotic food. Sokka decided to try some fire flakes which caused him to grab at his throat choking on the heat. The scene caused Lin to laugh while Aang and Katara just shook their heads. It became clear to her that Sokka was rarely taken seriously. Lin gave him some healing water to drink that soothed his esophagus.

Eventually the heroes made it to the main attraction where some firebending was taking place on stage. "Wow he is amazing" Lin said staring at the tricks the firebender was doing. "I want to learn how to do that!" Aang was enthusiastic about what was going on and wanted to volunteer for the next trick. While Katara was telling Aang to not draw attention to them she ended up being picked. Once on stage the firebender created a dragon of flames that circles the southern water bender. It looked like the dragon was about to eat Katara and engulf her in flames. Aang began to flip out and tried to make his way towards the stage. "Aang it's only a trick she won't get hurt!" Lin yelled as her and Sokka try to hold the Avatar back. He broke free and showed to the entire village that he was the Avatar as he airbended the fire dragon away.

Before long the guards were coming down on them. A strange man to the side of the stage yelled for them to follow. Without a second thought everyone except Lin rushed towards him. "Are you just going to follow some stranger?" "What choice do we have?!" Katara yelled behind her. She made a good point.

The city was like a maze as they try to find a way to escape the fire soldiers who keep beating them to every turn. Aang decided to use his buffalo whistle he bought at the market earlier to hopefully call Appa. "Do you always run into this kind of trouble?" a panting Lin asked. "Yeah guess we should of warned you of our bad luck" the boy from the water tribe chimed in. It wasn't long before the white bison came down from the sky and they quickly climbed up his long fur coat.

Once safely in the woods the stranger introduced himself as Chey. They set up a camp while Chey started yapping endlessly about Jeong Jeong a deserter of the Fire Nation and a great warrior. Aang was the only one really listening and piped up about wanting to learn how to firebend. It was settled, Aang would meet Jeong Jeong in the morning to start his training.

The next day as the Avatar learned firebending Katara was teaching Lin how to waterbend "Concentrate and feel the water flow between your hands. All your motions should be as fluid as water running down a stream." It wasn't long before Lin started to pick up the basics and started to work on some attack moves. She couldn't believe that she was finally learning how to really waterbend. This was exactly what Lin had hoped to find on her journey, someone to teach her. During her training she was surprised to learn that no one taught Katara the moves she knows. The Southern Water Tribe girl was self-taught by reading some water scrolls she had found. The girls could hear Aang complaining loudly about his training from the strict Jeong Jeong down the stream. "He really is still just a kid isn't he?" Lin remarked as she expected the Avatar to be some wise old man.

Katara left Mei-Lin to practice some more as she went to check on a recently grumpy Aang. The black haired girl stood in the river controlling the largest orb of water she was able to contain so far and swirled it around her. Staring at the floating ball of water with her pale ice blue eyes she started to become lost in her thoughts of the last time she was here and her trip to the Fire Nation.

_Lin was ten years old when her mother Yuki and her father Kaito had a huge argument. One of the things Yuki loved about Kaito growing up was that he was unlike the other males in the North Pole who were concerned with what a woman's role should be. As Mei-Lin grew older and her waterbending became more pronounced Kaito enforced the ways of their tribe upon her meaning she could only become a healer. Yuki tried to be understanding, but things had gone too far when her husband started to take on a male dominating attitude about everything. The final straw was when Kaito told his wife that she couldn't take care of herself. Yuki took her daughter with her and left the North Pole to prove that they could indeed take care of themselves. It was more than just a fight to her mother. She was worried that Lin would grow up not knowing other cultures and become subservient like the other women of their tribe. _

_They travelled by boat to the Earth Kingdom which for a kid felt like an eternity. Yuki allowed Lin to try little waterbending techniques such as turning water to ice, but told her once they made it land she wasn't allowed to waterbend at all. It was dangerous especially for anyone from the Water Tribe to be out and about during the war. _

_The boat sailed through a channel and docked at a Fire Nation Colony in the Earth Kingdom. One of the first things they did was change their clothes to fit in. "Mommy, there's no snow here at all. It's so warm" Lin's face was bright with wonder. She tugged at her mother's clothes dragging her anywhere she thought looked interesting. _

_That night there was a festival where the vendors were out selling all kinds of trinkets and firebenders were performing tricks. Lin saw a man form a ring of fire and jumped through it. "Can I do that?" the little girl asked. Yuki giggled "No sweetie, only special people who are firebenders can." Lin pouted, but soon her attention turned towards a puppet show. It was a story about the Fire Nation successfully attacking the Earth Kingdom and that was how the colony was made. The young waterbender didn't really understand much of the story, but she liked the puppets. _

_It was a whole new world to her that made the boat ride worth it. There were jugglers and magicians as well as some beautiful dances. She could tell that her mother was enjoying the festival as much as she was. As they were getting something to eat they overheard a couple talking about their trip to Ember Island and how beautiful the beach was. "I want to go to Ember Island and see the beach. Can we go? Can we?" How could Yuki say no? She talked to the couple to find out how to get there and learned there was a ship leaving the next morning. _

_Lin wasn't so keen on getting back on a boat, but knew that it would be worth it. On the way there Yuki reinforced her daughter's good behavior of not waterbending or giving away that they were from the Water Tribe. So far everything was turning out well and they had raised no suspicion towards themselves. _

_Ember Island was only supposed to be a few hours away, but a major storm caused the ship to reroute towards the Fire Nation Capital. This caused Yuki to worry. They were going into the belly of the beast._

A scream interrupted Lin's thoughts breaking her focus. The large orb of water fell on her soaking her from head to toe. The bun on top of her head flattened from the weight of the water. She quickly waterbended herself dry before rushing off to find out what was the commotion. It was Katara. She could see the young girl crouching in pain. It appeared that Aang had accidentally burned her. Sokka dived towards the airbender screaming at him. Katara quickly got up to run away as Lin screamed after her. "Wait Katara I can help you!" Lin chased her fellow waterbender to another stream of water and saw Katara had healed her burns. Lin was amazed that not only did she teach herself to waterbend, but now heal. Surely Katara would make a great master one day.

"Katara look you can heal too!" "I never even thought to try it after I saw what you could do." "Looks like we have a lot to teach each other." It was a true bonding moment that was interrupted by an attack by fire soldiers that had chased them earlier.

Once Aang had crippled the Fire Nation's method of transportation the gang boarded Appa to flee to safety. There was no sign of Jeong Jeong and the rest of his crew as they too fled from the soldiers. Lin noticed that Aang's arm was burned. "You're hurt." "It's nothing. Think you could heal it." Lin smiled and looked over at Katara. "You try. Have the water surround your hands like a glove. Now concentrate on making the skin smooth to how it was before." Katara healed the burn with no problem as if she had done this before. "What! Since when could you do that? " Both Aang and Sokka were surprised and their reactions caused the two girls to laugh. "Does that mean you could have healed me all those times I was bleeding to death?" "Don't over exaggerate Sokka. Those were tiny little cuts and I only just learned" Katara replied rolling her eyes. Lin ruffled the top of Sokka's head causing strands to come loose from his ponytail "Don't worry, I'll protect you from yourself." "See at least someone cares! Wait…what?" Everyone else laughed while the boy from the south crossed his arms and ignored them.


	3. The Northern Air Temple

**Book One: Water  
Chapter 17  
The Northern Air Temple**

On the way to the North Pole they decided to make a stop at the Northern Air Temple to see if there were any real Airbenders left. It was Lin's first time seeing an Air temple and it took her breath away, a city in the clouds. From a distance they could see people flying. "Look there are still airbenders left" said Sokka joyfully. "They aren't airbenders." By the sound of Aang's voice Lin could tell he was disappointed.

It turned out they were citizens of the Earth Kingdom who had become refugees when a flood washed away their village. A man known as the Mechanist made the Air Temple their home and had everything powered by hot air. That was how they were able to use special gliders to fly. His son Teo who was in a wheelchair showed the Avatar and his friends around. Aang's face became more disgusted with each room they entered "This place in unbelievable." "Yeah its great isn't it?" Teo was proud of what his father had accomplished. "No, just unbelievable." Katara wanted to make a point that Aang wasn't trying to be rude "Aang used to come here a long time ago. I think he's a little shock it's so… different." "So better" said Sokka fascinated by all the machinery. Lin slapped him on the back of the head to shut him up. Lin couldn't imagine how Aang was feeling. To know that everyone he ever knew in the Air Temples was wiped out must be so lonely. She just wanted to reach out and give him a hug.

The tour started to become tedious as Aang talked mechanics with the Mechanist. Lin wandered off on her own to view the fascinating architecture and murals of the airbenders. Eventually she found her way outside and took a deep breath of fresh air. It was so peaceful until a voice spoke behind her "Wanna fly?" The waterbender turned around to see a boy about her age with black hair and green eyes holding a glider. "No way. What if I fall?" "You won't. The hot air keeps you up" he held out the glider towards her. What did she have to lose besides her life? Lin grabbed the glider with confidence and walked over to the edge. "Ok so what do I do?" "Just jump." "Did anyone ever tell you that you have a way with words?" The boy blushed "Sorry, your kinda cute and its making me nervous." Mei-Lin let out a small laugh "Just kind of cute huh?" She could tell she was starting to intimidate him. "I'm just kidding, relax."

Just as she was about to jump Katara screamed after her "What are you doing?" "Well this boy…" Lin looked over at the him. "Tappan." "Tappan here said I should try flying. C'mon Katara lets fly together." Tappan brought another glider for Katara and soon both girls were standing on the edge. Katara started freaking out and didn't want to jump, but Lin just took a deep breath and jumped. "Come on Katara it's actually easy!" Lin yelled back. Once the girl with the braid took the plunge they both spent the rest of the afternoon gliding with Tappan. Lin loved soaring through the air and into the puffy clouds. The quiet put her mind at ease.

_The boat docked at the Fire Nation Capital and fear struck Yuki's heart. Going to a Fire Nation colony wasn't as bad since they were used to seeing many travellers and if things got bad they could have taken shelter in an Earth Kingdom village. She had to put on a brave face for her daughter and seek shelter as no boat was leaving anytime soon. With the storm reaching land they took shelter at a small inn, The Flaming Dragon. "Where is the beach?" Lin asked as she looked out of the room's window at the stormy sky. There was nothing but buildings for miles and a huge mountain where there looked to be another city at the top. "Sorry Mei-Lin we couldn't make it to Ember Island because of the storm." _

_The next day the sun was shining and the capital was stunning as if everything beamed in the sunlight. Yuki went shopping with her daughter for more clothes so they could blend in. Anytime they walked by Fire Nation guards her mother would tense up. Maybe Kaito was right. Maybe she couldn't survive outside of the North Pole and she was stupid enough to risk her daughter's life. "Mom look! It's a woman soldier. Is she allowed to fight?" That question was the resolve Yuki needed. Despite the danger they were in this was the best place to have a cultural experience. The Fire Nation promoted gender equality with women in high ranking positions and were allowed to fight or work any job they wanted to. It was the complete opposite of the Northern Water Tribe. "Yes she is. I know at home it's difficult, but you can be anything you want. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." "I want to be a princess like Princess Yue!" the young waterbender twirled around gracefully. Yuki chuckled "Maybe you will."_

_They spent all day walking to each of the different shops and barely saw a third of the capital. By the evening they were no longer exploring as they were lost. A lovely old gentleman helped guide Yuki and Mei-Lin back to the Flaming Dragon. Lin was exhausted and knocked out as soon as she lay on the bed. They made it through the day without any troubles so her mother thought it would be alright if they stayed there longer. The people of the Fire Nation seemed no different than the people back home. They were kind and hardworking with the expected bad seeds. Of course she was going to need funds to support them so the next day Yuki got a job making fabrics and clothing at a local shop. _

_Yuki added some Water Tribe flavor to the designs she made which made the shop popular unlike the other cookie cutter fabric shops. Lin would help out a bit with the stitching or she would model a new outfit. It wasn't just all work for the young girl as she made some friends of her own and together they would play with dolls or other fun games. They had only been at the capital less than a week when Lin found out there was a festival coming up that was larger than the colonies in honor of the Fire Lord. She had so much fun at the last one she rushed to the store to tell her mother. Yuki barely understood a word that her daughter spoke because she was speaking so fast. "Calm down and start from the beginning sweetie." Lin took a deep breath and barely slowed her speech the second time around. _

"_Well isn't she a lively girl." Yuki hadn't noticed the female customer enter the shop. Lin approached the tall woman who was dressed elegantly and had a large flame ornament in her top knot "Welcome to Rei's Fabric Shop. How may we help you?"_

"_Oh she is polite too" the woman smiled at the waterbender. The owner of the shop, Rei, recognized the woman and started to make a fuss "Welcome Fire Princess Ursa! We are honored by your presence."_

As Aang saw the two girls having fun he realized that he was being too hard on Teo and his father. He decided to unlock the temple room that Teo had asked him about earlier and the two waterbenders joined them. "I can't wait to see what's inside" Lin said still giddy from her flying session. Aang let loose a puff of air that opened the door and they were all shocked to see Fire Nation weapons. Before they could take it all in Teo's father appeared behind them with Sokka. "You're making weapons for the Fire Nation!" Aang yelled.

Teo went with his father and Aang to discuss further what was going on at the Air Temple. "This is just terrible." Lin told Sokka and Katara. "Poor Aang." Katara replied. The three of them waited outside taking in the view. "So I heard you were hanging out with some Teapot guy?" Sokka put an arm around Lin. "Tappan" the black haired girl corrected him as she pushed his arm off. "Teapot, Tapper, whatever. I'm not jealous" This time Sokka took a step closer as they stood side by side and he tried to lean closer to her. Lin took a step away causing the boy with the ponytail to fall. "Katara can you tell your brother it's not going to happen" she walked off to go check on Aang. "Sokka, it's not going to happen" his sister was doing her best to not laugh out loud at him.

Shortly after the airbender informed his friends about the Fire Nation forcing the Mechanist to make weapons for them, but no more. They were going to put up a fight now all they needed was a plan. Sokka was the first to come up with a brilliant plan which was odd since he usually acted like an airhead like he was earlier. Quickly everyone sprang into action before the Fire Nation arrived.

"Here you go Appa" Lin said as she was loading bombs on Appa's back. Once Katara helped Teo take off to the skies the two girls rode on the sky bison's back to replenish everyone's ammo when needed. Everything seemed to be working out perfectly until the Fire Nation brought out their tanks. "There has to be a way to stop them" Lin yelled over the commotion. Teo explained how the tanks run on water to balance. "Water? Then we can handle them" Katara said as she looked at Lin and nodded.

Appa dropped them both onto the ground next to Aang as they helped him with the tanks. Katara waterbended the water out of the tanks and Aang would flip them over with his airbending. Lin felt more comfortable with ice so she formed giant icicles within the tank piercing the engine. Everything was going smoothly reinforcements quickly overwhelmed them. Appa rushed down to save them from the mass of tanks approaching their position.

It looked like they were losing the battle until Sokka finally arrived in the hot air balloon dropping huge slime bombs that washed the infantry down the mountain, but not the tanks. Suddenly there was a large unplanned explosion caused by Sokka as a last resort. Once the dust settled they could see below that the explosion got rid of the tanks and pushed the troops back. They had won! Everyone jumped in excitement and Lin couldn't help but hug Aang and jump up and down with him. She couldn't see it, but Aang was blushing. Their celebration was short lived as they heard Sokka's screams as his hot air balloon was crashing to the ground. "No! Sokka hold on!" Katara yelled towards the falling balloon. All Lin could scream was "Sokka!" and Aang was already on his way to save him and the Mechanist.

Thankfully the young Avatar was able to save them. Mei-Lin ran towards Sokka and gave him a big hug. She was glad he was alright especially after she impolitely shut down his advances. "I knew you…" Lin would not let him finish "Still not going to happen Sokka."

It was time to say their goodbyes. Aang told Teo and his father he was happy they lived there and protected the temple. It meant so much to them to have the Avatar's blessing.


	4. The Waterbending Master

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 18 **

**The Waterbending Master**

The Avatar and his friends had been flying over the ocean for two days straight in search of the Northern Water Tribe. Everyone was becoming grouchy and tired from the journey except Lin who knew they were close to her home town. She was more anxious and nervous about her return. It had been a year since she left the North Pole and Lin had not written home, not even once. She was too embarrassed because she promised to find herself a waterbending master, but wasn't successful. Paku had laughed at Lin's decision knowing she would have trouble finding anyone that could waterbend let alone a master. As all these thoughts raced across her mind she wasn't paying attention to the bickering going on between Sokka and Aang.

Suddenly Appa was tripped up by some ice glaciers and they all held on for dear life. They were ambushed by rafts with members of the Northern Water Tribe, looked like the welcoming committee found them first. Among the many faces Lin recognized was her father. Though his face did not betray his emotions she could tell that he was extremely happy to see her again. Lin held back tears "Everyone I would like you to welcome the Avatar! He has come to learn the ways of waterbending."

After many surprised gasps they were escorted to the Water Temple to see the Tribal Chief Arnook. The northern waterbender enjoyed seeing her friends wide eyed with wonder and excitement and probably some jealousy too. Lin and her friends were the special guests of the evening and a dinner was held in their honor. It also happened to be Princess Yue's 16th birthday and Lin felt it to be a high honor to sit at the same table as her. Lin never officially met Yue until that night since the princess spent most of her time at the temple and with the few friends she had.

The hall became quiet as Master Paku and his students took stage to perform their waterbending techniques. Lin knew that Aang would learn waterbending from him, but that didn't make her like him any less for how he treated her before she left. Once the show was over she noticed that Sokka was doing what he does best, failing at flirting with Princess Yue. "Does your brother always find some girl to fall in love with everywhere he goes?"

"If he didn't then I would start to worry" Katara chuckled.

After the dinner Mei-Lin went alone to visit her parents. It felt odd to be walking back through the front door after all this time. Nothing inside the house was different except for her. Yuki was the first to greet her daughter with a loving embrace "I'm so glad you are back home safe and sound."

"Oh Mom I really missed you."

"Got a hug for your old man?" her father came in and hugged both of them. Lin sat with her parents for a while as they asked how her journey was. They were proud of their daughter helping the Avatar and they thought this time she would be back home for good.

Lin felt that she couldn't stay now after meeting Aang and especially Katara who was teaching her so much. Also if she stayed she would probably never run into Zuko again. The waterbender truly believed that fate brought them together again because their destinies had become entwined. Either way Kaito was against it and every time he tried to put his foot down Yuki would step in.

"You wanted to learn some waterbending and you accomplished that. Lin you have done more than anyone in this village and aided the Avatar. Isn't that enough for you? You belong here with your family" her father pleaded.

"Dad I don't think my journey with Aang is over. I've become an important part of their group." Lin wasn't really sure if they even needed her, but she needed them.

"If you leaving before wasn't dangerous enough now you want to head to war!?"

Yuki stepped in before her daughter could answer "Kaito that is enough! Don't you see she doesn't belong here anymore? If she stays it will cripple her soul and you would hate yourself for it. I knew from the moment I showed her what was beyond those walls of ice that she belonged out in the open world."

Kaito just stared at his daughter and imagined her future if she stayed. Yuki was right. He would regret today for the rest of his life for putting out the flames of life that burned in her eyes.

Before Lin left to go back to the temple where her friends were staying she went to her room to get a few important items now that she might run into Zuko again. She went to a chest in the corner of her room where hidden underneath a drawer she pulled out a picture that was painted at the Fire Festival of her and Zuko. Mei-Lin also took the stuffed turtle-duck he won for her at a festival game that was on her bed. She would sleep with it all the time in hopes that one day she would run into him again.

_Yuki was shocked to see Fire Princess Ursa standing before her and Lin. "Welcome Princess" Yuki bowed her head in respect. Ursa raised her hand to show there was no need to fuss over here "Please, just treat me like a normal customer." _

_The princess had been on one of her secret, but always turned out not to be secret strolls. It had come to her attention that some new designer fabrics were gaining in popularity and she decided to make the trip down from the palace. It was no wonder the designs were unlike any other fabric shop since the seamstress was from the Water Tribe. Ursa didn't say a word about their secret and allowed Lin to help her choose some items._

_As the fire princess paid for her drapes and robes she came up with a brilliant idea "I know Mei-Lin wants to see the festival. How about a play date with my son Zuko? The poor boy rarely gets to leave the palace and I think they could become good friends." Ursa also desperately needed her son to escape the bad influences of her husband Ozai and her daughter Azula. This was the perfect chance to expand Zuko's horizons since he was to be Fire Lord one day.  
_

_Yuki on the other hand wasn't quite so sure. First they end up in the capital of the people who would enslave her daughter and now she was cozying up with the Fire Lord's wife. From the corner of her eye she could see the hopeful look on Lin's face and couldn't turn the princess down. _

_On the day of the festival Yuki and Lin were waiting by the main stage where shows would be held later that evening. She was surprised to see that Ursa and Zuko arrived without any palace guards and dressed down so as not to draw attention to themselves. _

_Zuko was under the impression that the new friend his mother was talking about was going to be a boy. Instead he saw a girl with long black hair and half of it was placed up in a bun. Through her bangs he could see that she had light blue eyes. "You didn't tell me I was going to be playing with a girl. I already spend enough time with Azula and her friends" he whined. _

_His mother gave him a stern look to be on his best behavior. "Yuki, Mei-Lin. This is my son Zuko." Ursa nudged him forward to give a proper greeting. _

"_Nice to meet you Zuko!" Lin waved and gave him the biggest smile. He was the cutest boy she had ever seen and felt lucky that she was going to spend the day with him. _

_All four of them walked through the festival which was bustling with commotion. Every once in a while they would stop at an interesting vendor. "So what's it like being a prince?" Lin asked._

"_It's alright I guess." Zuko knew that he was privileged, but didn't make up the lack of disappointment he felt from his father. There was no real reason for it and the only thing he could understand was that his dad was fonder of his sister. _

"_Just alright?" _

"_Ok it's amazing. I get to do whatever I want when I want. Is that what you want to hear?" Zuko's tone became more sarcastic with every word. Lin stuck her tongue out at him. "You don't have to be so mean about it. I just thought it would be awesome to live in such a large palace." _

_Even though the young boy with the ponytail was cute his personality left little to be desired. Lin hoped that Zuko wouldn't ruin the festival for her. The two kids walked in silence until they came across an origami booth. "Hey Zuko let's make something cool." The young prince just shrugged his shoulders and followed behind her while their mothers continued on with their adult conversation. _

_Mei-Lin made a pig-rooster with a large tail and went to show it to Zuko who seemed to be having trouble with whatever he was making. "Is it a snake-spider?" the waterbender asked. _

"_No! It's a dragon. Can't you tell by its…uh..uh." Even Zuko couldn't make out what it was and let his head drop down in defeat. Lin felt bad and decided to help him. After they made the last folds on the dragon Zuko finally had a smile on his face. He thanked Lin and realized she wasn't so bad to hang out with after all. _

_The next thing that caught the children's attention was a fish scooping game. Mei-Lin really wanted to win a prize which was a cute stuffed turtle-duck. No matter how many times she tried she wasn't able to catch a goldfish since the scoop kept breaking. If only she was knew how to waterbend it wouldn't have been so difficult, but her mother would have forbidden her anyway. Zuko was pretty good at the game and decided to win the toy for her since she helped him make his dragon. With his dexterous hands the boy was able to scoop up five fish before the scoop broke. Once Lin had the stuffed animal in her hands she surprised Zuko with a hug causing his face to turn flaming red. _

"_Thank you so much! I am going to treasure it forever!"_

The next morning Aang and Katara woke up early to start their training. "Hey Lin aren't you coming?" asked Aang.

"Nah I'm just going to sleep in." She didn't have the heart to tell Katara and Aang about the rules here in the North Pole.

"C'mon I already told him that I'm bringing two of my friends. You don't want me to look like a liar on my first day do you?" Aang looked at her with those sad loveable grey eyes. How could she say no especially since he had a good point.

The three of them made their way to Master Paku who was performing a technique until the Avatar made him lose his concentration with his loud entrance. Lin could see Paku's face when the young boy told him who his two friends were.

"You didn't tell me your friend is a girl. There has been a misunderstanding. In our tribe it is forbidden for women to waterbend. Lin you know better, why didn't you tell them?"

Before Lin could utter a word Katara stepped in. "What do you mean women can't learn?"

"Katara that is the reason why I left home. I thought it was unfair that I couldn't learn how to waterbend so I left to find someone who would teach me or learn at least be free to learn on my own. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I feared Aang would not come here to train if he found out."

"You are more than welcome to learn how to heal" Master Paku interjected.

"I don't want to learn how to heal I want to fight!" Katara yelled. "I can see that" said Master Paku non-chalantly

"Well then I don't want to learn from you!" Aang stormed off.

Katara chased after him. "Wait you can't risk your training from me. You have to learn from Master Paku." Lin could see that he reluctantly agreed. Both waterbending females left Aang to train with Master Paku.

"I can't believe this place has such rules. I don't blame you for leaving."

"It was a hard decision to make leaving my family, but my mother always encouraged me to see the world and discover what was out there. Katara I know this isn't what you came for, but I think you should really learn from Yagoda. Healing can be very helpful especially hanging around Aang and Sokka." The girls giggled and Lin showed her friend the way to Yagoda's training hut.

Back in the group's room that night the mood in the air was pretty sour. Sokka complained about Princess Yue dumping him, Aang about Master poop-head, and Katara about the rules against women waterbending. Lin on the other hand was speechless that Princess Yue fell for Sokka's advances. She really did not know the princess at all.

After some silent contemplation over the day's events Sokka had another golden idea. Aang was going to teach Lin and Katara at night what he just learned earlier that day. The girls' faces lit up like fireworks and ran out of the room with Aang anxious to learn. Sokka was left to brood alone.

As Katara and Lin were maneuvering a large amount of water around them they noticed that it moved away from them. Paku had caught them training and made it well known how displeased he was. At once the three waterbenders were brought to the head council of the tribe and Master Paku announced that he would no longer be teaching the Avatar. Katara had enough of the sexist rules and challenged Paku to a fight.

It was an intense battle, but it was obvious southern waterbender had great potential and was able to hold her own until Paku got the better of her. Master Paku walked away with pride until he noticed Katara's necklace on the floor that was knocked off during the fight. It was the betrothal necklace he gave Katara's grandmother. She was shocked her grandmother could ever be engaged to a man like Paku. When she met Yagoda she learned that Kana was from the Northern Water Tribe, but ran away. A light bulb went off in her head when she realized why her grandmother left.

"My Gran-Gran left you because she didn't believe in your tribe's silly customs. She had the courage to leave and its happening once again with Lin. Can't you see that families are being torn apart? How much longer are you willing to let this happen?"

Finally after all this time it finally sunk in how unfair the Northern Water Tribe customs were and its consequences. Lin had never been so glad to have met her new friends because now it meant that she could return home whenever she wanted and be her waterbending self. The next morning Katara and Lin were able to join Aang in his training.


	5. The Siege of the North Part 1

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 19 **

**The Siege of the North Part 1**

It was a grand sight to watch Katara kicking all of Master Paku's pupils' butts during the sparring match. Lin and Katara had spent more time practicing their waterbending than Aang. It was obvious that he did not take training as seriously as the girls did. He was bored and mocked his training by showing that he could make himself into a snowman. Lin shared the same frustrations as Master Paku and Katara. She understood he wanted to just have fun, but who didn't? He needed to understand that he has a responsibility and it was a big one.

While watching Aang continue to play around in the snow as the kid he is snow began to fall. The Northern Water Tribe girl reached her hand out to catch the flakes when she realized it wasn't snow at all, it was black soot. The Fire Nation was coming to wipe out the last of the waterbenders.

The village rang with the sound of the drums calling everyone to the temple to prepare. When the Chief Arnook asked for volunteers for a dangerous mission Sokka was the first to jump up as if he had something to prove. Mei-Lin noticed that Princess Yue and Sokka held a glance that showed only sadness. Though she was too far to see clearly she thought she saw a tear roll down Princess Yue's cheek. It was obvious that something else had gone on between them since they last spoke to Sokka.

There was nothing to do but wait for the Fire Nation to arrive. As the waterbenders watched the ocean for the enemy's arrival a large fireball could be seen in the distance heading straight for them. The battle had begun and the Avatar flew off with Appa towards the oncoming ships. It was hard for Lin to believe that her hometown was about to be attacked and she prayed for everyone's safety. Lin, Katara, and Princess Yue hung back and watched as countless waterbenders tried to prevent the fireballs from doing any damage. When the sun began to set the Fire Nation halted their attack and shortly after the young Avatar returned disheartened. "I can't fight them all, I'm just one kid" Aang said sadly.

The three girls and the Avatar retuned to the temple balcony and looked up at the moon. Princess Yue told them a story about the moon spirit being the first waterbender and that is why waterbenders are stronger at night. At the mention of spirits Aang perked up "Maybe I can find them and get their help."

"How can you do that?" Princess Yue asked.

Katara was the one to answer "The Avatar is the bridge between the spirit world and our world. Aang can talk to them!" They weren't sure how Aang could contact the spirit world, but Princess Yue knew of the most spiritual place in the North Pole and guided them there.

The secret location was warm and filled with grass which Aang was very happy to see "It's so warm here! How is that possible?"

"It's the center of all spiritual energy in our land" the white haired girl responded. Lin looked over at the nearby pond and saw a black and a white fish swimming in a circle. It resembled the yin and yang of balance. Their flying lemur Momo reached into the water with his paw to try and catch one. "Momo" Lin said in a disciplinary tone which scared him away.

Aang sat on the grass trying to meditate, but was having trouble with Princess Yue asking so many questions about contacting the spirit world. The young boy quieted the two girls and Lin tried to stifle a laugh. It wasn't long before Aang entered the spirit world as his eyes and tattoos started to glow blue. It was such a strange sight for Lin to see. Princess Yue grew nervous and wondered if they should get help, but Katara assured her that she could handle it. The girls were startled by a familiar voice behind them "Well aren't you a big girl now?" It was Zuko who looked worse for wear since the last time they saw him. His face was covered in scratches and bruises.

"Hand over the Avatar!"

Princess Yue ran to a corner to hide as the two waterbenders took a defensive stance. "Lin you look over the Princess, I got this." Lin was thankful as she wasn't sure she had it in her to use her new found waterbending abilities on the prince.

Zuko made a mad dash at Katara, but she used her water to throw him back. Zuko was having a hard time holding his own against Katara as the moon strengthened her abilities. Eventually Zuko bypassed Katara and was about to grab Aang and possibly take him out of the spirit world. Lin acted quickly throwing a whip of water at Zuko's hand. He was briefly taken aback as he looked at her and recognized her face; she was the girl who complimented him. Katara used this distraction to pin Zuko to the wall enclosed in ice. Yue left the two waterbenders to watch Zuko and guard Aang as she went to get Sokka's help.

Before backup arrived the sun came up allowing Zuko to escape the wall of ice and attack the Southern Water Tribe girl. "Katara!" Lin shouted as she saw her friend thrown back into a pole.

"You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun" Zuko calmly said as he grabbed the Avatar.

The northerner could not stand idly by as her friend was knocked out. "I won't let you take him!" yelled Lin.

He didn't see the need of using violence if he didn't have to. "You won't be able to stop me and I don't want to hurt you."

Neither did she but she used the push and pull of the energy within her and summoned a whirlwind of water, but he easily blasted through it and it threw her into the pond of water and her head was starting to sink under. As Lin was losing consciousness Zuko wasn't going to let the poor girl drown so he pulled her out of the water and mumbled "Sorry" and then he ran off with Aang thrown over his shoulder. That was the last thing Lin saw before everything turned to black.

"_The show is going to start soon let's get you two some food before it starts" Ursa told the two kids and led them to the food portion of the fair. The princess was enjoying her time with Yuki even though the woman tried to keep a defensive wall up. They mostly spent their time comparing notes on raising children and how difficult men could be. Ursa did wonder what really brought citizens from the Water Tribe willingly to the Fire Nation. _

"_I want some flaming fire flakes!" Zuko's eyes lit up as he saw one of the vendors selling this popular Fire Nation snack. _

"_Zuko you must have a proper supper before you can snack" Ursa exclaimed as she bought the young prince one of his favorite dishes, kimodo chicken with extra spice. _

_Princess Ursa noticed that Zuko and Lin were starting to get along after a rough patch in the beginning. She wanted to encourage the gentlemanly characteristics he was starting to display like winning Lin the turtle-duck. Out of her pocket she gave Zuko some money to buy the young girl her dinner and some extra for the fire flakes. Yuki tried to stop her, but Ursa would not hear it. There was no reason for her not to share the obscene amount of wealth her husband had. _

"_What do you want to eat?" the prince asked Mei-Lin. _

"_Roast duck." It was one of the few dishes that she liked in the Fire Nation._

_Zuko paid with the money his mother gave him and Lin thanked for him for his generosity and called him sweet. She looked at him with gentle eyes even though they were the color of ice there was nothing but warmth. He turned away quickly as he muttered "It's nothing." He didn't want her to see the red on his cheeks as he blushed. _

_Before they sat down to eat Zuko bought his snack with the left-over money. "You wanna share?" he asked holding the bag of fire flakes out towards her. _

_Lin fervently shook her head "No way! Those are way too spicy. It felt like the sun was burning the inside of my mouth." She remembered the first time she tried them and she had to use her waterbending to cool the burning sensation._

_Zuko couldn't understand how someone in the Fire Nation did like hot spices. "You're weird. Then why are you living in a place where everything is spicy?"_

"_We don't live here. My mommy and I are just visiting for a while. We were supposed to go to Ember Island, but a storm caused us to end up here. _

"_Where are you from?"_

"_The Fire Nation Colonies. They don't have the same spices there." Lin had all the answers prepared by her mother who created their cover story. She hoped that Zuko wouldn't know about the spice lie she just made up._

"_Where's your dad?" Zuko decided to ask more questions._

"_Fighting in the war."_

"_Oh. Well Ember Island would have been more fun than here." He loved all the summer trips he and his family took there. _

_They finished eating just as the show was about to start. Zuko grabbed Lin's hand guiding her through the crowd of people to get closer to the stage. The two kids were able to make it to the very front that once the performance started they could feel the heat from the firebenders tricks. One performer juggled fireballs while another created animal shapes out of flames. Each stunt became more extravagant and intense in flames. A woman firebender made a large cyclone of fire and had it hover over the audience. The cyclone came really close to Lin and she could feel the heat almost like it was actually burning her. She cowered in fear and buried her face in Zuko's chest with her hands covering her face. _

_The prince was shocked and almost fell back from the girl's momentum. He couldn't believe how scared she was as he felt her body trembling. Zuko wrapped his arms around her and whispered "Don't worry it's not going to burn you. I'll make sure of it." _

_Lin slowly lifted her head up so their eyes met and her continued to race, but no longer from fear. "You're a firebender?"_

_Zuko nodded. Even though Lin was from the Fire Colonies he couldn't understand how she knew so little about him, the Fire Nation, and firebenders. The show ended after the cyclone stunt and the festival was soon to be over. The children headed back to their mothers who were standing at the back of the crowd. "Did you enjoy the show?" Lin's mother asked. "Yeah! They did some really cool tricks."_

_It was time for them to go their separate ways, but Zuko and Lin were hesitant to say goodbye as they stood across from each other in silence. Mei-Lin really started to like the Prince and was worried that she wouldn't see him again. All she wanted to do was spend more time with him and get to know him. Zuko was feeling the exact same way though his emotions surprised him. She wasn't like Azula and her friends who acted tough were bored by everything. _

_Ursa noticed their reluctance and was glad that Zuko was able to make a real friend of his own and not because of his social status. "Why don't we meet again tomorrow? We can have a picnic in the park." Both Zuko and Lin's faces lit up at the idea of seeing each other again. "No I wouldn't want to impose. You must have a busy schedule Ursa." Even though Yuki also enjoyed the company of the Fire Princess she wasn't sure if it was worth the risk to see each other again. _

"_I do as a matter of fact. You see I have an important date to keep with a dear friend. It's going to be a lovely picnic with some not so hot delicacies."_

_Yuki's eyes widened in shock when Ursa called her a dear friend and deep down she was elated by this. Lin wasn't the only one that was glad to have a new friend and someone to talk to out in this strange new land. They said their goodbyes and looked forward to tomorrow's lunch date. _

_Back at the inn Yuki tucked her daughter in bed and noticed she was holding the turtle-duck Zuko won for her. "So what do you think of the prince?"_

"_I really like him. I thought he was mean, but he's really sweet. He's also really cute." _

_Yuki tapped her daughter's nose and then tickled her "I think you're a little young to be liking boys. I'm not ready for that and don't get me started on your father." _

_Lin was giggling and squirming in bed to get out of her mother's grasp. "I only said he was cute." _

"_Uh-uh. I believe you said really cute." She loved teasing her daughter, but she appreciated that Lin was always open with her. That was the kind of mother-daughter relationship she encouraged. _

_Mei-Lin hid her face in her pillow so her mother wouldn't see that she was blushing and soon was overcome by sleep. _

Both Katara and Lin were woken up by Sokka and Princess Yue. The Avatar was gone and they had to find him before it was too late.


	6. The Siege of the North Part 2

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 20 **

**The Siege of the North Part 2**

The teens from the different Water Tribes boarded Appa and took to the skies in search of Aang. There was a blizzard beyond the walls of the city and it was getting stronger causing them to fear the life of their friend. As they squinted to see through the snow a bright blue light flashed across the sky. "That has got to be Aang!" Katara yelled pointing at the direction of the light. Appa rushed down towards where the light landed and they could see a bound Aang crawling away from Zuko.

Lin was the first to jump off "I got him this time!" Lin could feel that the power within her was stronger from the full moon. There was no way she would let Zuko get a hit off of her this time. She sent a large rush of snow that turned into ice at the prince knocking him unconscious. Her friends were impressed with her increased waterbending skills, but she was more concerned about Zuko.

Everyone except Lin boarded Appa as she stood by Zuko's side. "We can't leave him here. He'll freeze to death." There was no way she would let that happen and Aang agreed with her. He jumped off Appa to help her carry Zuko aboard.

"Yeah this makes a lot of sense. Let's bring the guy that's constantly trying to kill us." Sokka said in a sarcastic tone.

Lin gave him a look as she huddled around Zuko to keep him warm "We are not murderers Sokka". Lin could smell the white lotus flower on him again and was trying her best not to show how embarrassed she was holding the prince. She never imagined that they would be this close now that they were enemies. Her heart began to race and if her cheeks weren't already red from the cold her blushing would have given her away. On the ride back to her city she fought the urge to heal his scrapes and bruises.

Flying through the quiet darkness the moon suddenly turned red. Both Princess Yue and Aang could sense the moon spirit was in trouble. The Princess explained to them that the moon spirit gave her life when she was a sick child and that was why she could feel a connection. They soon arrived to the spiritual place where Zhao was holding the moon spirit in a bag. It was a standoff that was interrupted by Zuko's uncle Iroh as he tried to talk sense to General Zhao since killing the moon spirit would upset the balance. For a moment it looked as though their pleas changed his mind, but instead he set fire to the moon spirit. The sky grew black and all that could be seen was Iroh launching himself surrounded by flames at General Zhou and his army scaring them away.

"It's over now" Princess Yue choked back her tears.

"No it's not over" Aang stated in a strange voice. Aang looked to be calling to the spirits and reached his Avatar state for the first time and walked off as he formed a giant blue creature around him.

Lin watched all of this from Appa's saddle as she kept an eye on Zuko. A moan escaped his lips as he began to wake up. The waterbender slowly sat the firebender up against her and she could feel his body was no longer freezing as he started to regulate his body temperature from her ice attack. As his golden eyes looked up at her his body tensed ready to fight. "Sorry for hurting you back there, but you started it" Lin said in a soft voice. Without thinking she caressed his cheek "Are you ok?" Zuko flinched at her touch and couldn't understand why she was being nice to him or why they had not left him in the arctic tundra.

"Yeah I think so" he said as he slid away from her yet part of him didn't want to. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her before a long time ago.

"I could heal your wounds if you want me too. What happened to you?" Lin asked referring to his cuts and bruises.

"Nothing I'll be fine" he replied in a gruff manner. He turned to see what was going on and saw his uncle with the Avatar and his friends as well as General Zhao running away. He had to catch up with him after the General had tried to have him killed. Quickly the Prince got to his feet and was about to jump off Appa's back when he felt Lin's hand grab his.

"Please don't go! I don't want you to get injured again." Lin feared the worst out there in this crazy fight and didn't know what to expect with Aang in the Avatar state.

Zuko was even more bewildered by this girl. She seemed to truly care for him. He could sense this strange attraction towards her, but of all the things he had to deal with this was not his priority. If only she wasn't aligned with the Avatar and also being a waterbender didn't help as the Fire Nation wanted to wipe them out. The prince knew he could have just told her off and left, but he couldn't. Instead he saw a hair out of place from her bun and tucked it behind her ear and through a soft smile said "Don't worry about me. I'm a lot stronger than you think…" He realized he never knew her name.

"Mei-Lin, but you can call me Lin." She bit the inside of her lip hoping her name would ring a bell.

"Lin, that's a beautiful name." In a flash he was gone.

Lin joined her friends and Iroh who was holding dead moon spirit. She was surprised to see that Zuko's uncle was kind and helpful since he was the Fire Lord's brother.

"You have been touched by the moon spirit?" Iroh asked the Princess to which she replied "Yes". The Princess knew since the spirit gave her life then she could give it back. The pain in Sokka's eyes was unbearable to watch. There was no denying the love between the princess and him. He was unable to stop her and as she became the moon spirit she gave Sokka a farewell kiss.

The Avatar had driven away the Fire Nation's forces and saved the Northern Water Tribe. In light of recent events Master Paku decided it was best to help out the fellow Southern Water Tribe and teach them how to waterbend with some of his other pupils. He left the Avatar's training up to Katara as well as Lin as she still had some growing to do.

Katara ran to embrace Aang for successfully reaching his Avatar state and it was obvious to Lin that there was some kind of love growing between them, but it was too early to tell. Sokka sorrowfully joined up and placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. As the Northern Water Tribe girl stood at the sidelines unsure of what to do next when Aang reached out a hand to her. "We would love for you to come with us. It wouldn't be the same without you."

"And I don't want to go back to being the only girl again" Katara chimed in.

Lin finally felt like she was really part of the group and joined them in a group hug. She looked out into the horizon wondering where their journey would take them next.

_Mei-Lin felt nervous to see Zuko again and wanted to make sure she looked her best. She tied a yellow belt around the red tunic dress she was wearing and made sure a hair wasn't out of place. Lin and her mother were running late to meet their royal friends as they cooked up some food for the picnic. By the time they reached the park Ursa and Zuko had already set up a blanket with the food neatly arranged on top. The girls from the Water Tribe apologized and thanked them for a wonderful feast. _

_There was idle chit chat as they ate since the kids felt uncomfortable talking around their parents. Zuko found the sea soup and tart pie Mei-Lin made to be quite delicious and complimented her. He thought not only was she pretty, but an excellent cook as well. After eating the two kids went to play ball in a small open field in the middle of the park. _

_Even though Lin was in a dress she was able to show off her athleticism and agility. It soon became a fierce competition between them to see who could catch the ball the most. It was a simple game, but they highly enjoyed it. _

"_Do you play a lot of sports with your brothers?" asked an out of breath Zuko. _

"_I'm an only child. Since my parents didn't have a boy he taught me to play some sports and then I would show off to the guys in my village." _

"_I wish I was an only child." _

"_Why?" Lin stopped throwing the ball and walked over to Zuko. This was the first time she heard sadness in his voice since she met him the day before. _

"_Nothing" Zuko said as he looked down at his feet. He never complained about what was really bothering him not even to his mother. Yet without words his mother understood him and tried to reassure him of his insecurities. _

"_C'mon something is bothering you. Friends are supposed to talk to each other about their problems and be there for them. We are friends aren't we Zuko?" She took his hand in hers and pulled him down to sit on the grass next to her.  
_

_He couldn't deny that she was more than an acquaintance and a closer friend than any other person he had met. "Don't think I have a choice" he teased. Lin shoved him lightly "Don't try to change the subject."_

"_Ok, ok. Well I have a sister, Azula. Ugh…this is going to sound so stupid" he pulled out handfuls of grass from the ground and threw it up in the air. "My father doesn't pay any attention to me. He is always fawning over her because she is so great and I can't be. Sometimes he can't even stand to look at me as if I wronged him in some way. Nothing I ever do is good enough for him. No matter how hard I try I can't get my father to love me like he loves her. She is just so perfect!" Zuko was yelling when he reached the end of his rambling. He hated being jealous of his sister when he should be taking care of her as a big brother should. Azula didn't even need him around for anything. _

_Mei-Lin finally understood why he reacted the way he did when she asked him about what it was like to live in a palace. Zuko wasn't impervious to having his own problems. She figured his mother must have been just as lonely as her son if she wanted to spend time with nobodies like them. The waterbender kneeled behind Zuko and embraced him in her arms. "Zuko, you are perfect. Even if your dad doesn't see it I do and one day he will realize how stupid he's acting." Lin didn't care if she was practically telling the prince how she felt about him because he needed to hear it. _

_Zuko felt embarrassed to show his weak side, but he took such comfort in Lin's arms. He didn't want to ruin the moment by speaking and besides he couldn't. The firebender was choked up with tears streaming down his face. He never let anyone see him cry so he bent his knees to his chest so he could lower his head. Though he tried not to make a sound Lin could hear his sniffles and she nuzzled her face into the back of his neck and she too began to cry with him. _

Out on the water Zuko and his uncle were able to escape on a little raft and they knew it was going to be a long journey home. The Prince just kept looking back at the North Pole and thinking of Lin, she was definitely getting under his skin. Iroh interrupted his thoughts as he mentioned his surprise at Zuko's lack of drive to continue trying to capture the Avatar.

"I'm tired" he responded to his uncle.

"Then you should rest. A man needs his rest."

Zuko laid down and closed his eyes, but could only see Lin. His emotions were draining his energy as he was torn. Could he actually like this waterbender? He missed her presence as it made him feel loved for once. The only other person that ever loved him for who he is was his mother who was now long gone. His father would be more disappointed in him than ever if he knew of his attraction to a waterbender and especially one aiding the Avatar. His mind raced as his heart and mind battled casing him to have a headache. Maybe he should take his uncle's advice.


	7. The Avatar State

**Book Two: Earth**

**Chapter 1 **

**The Avatar State**

Disclaimer: I own nothing Avatar except the characters I create.  
P.S. Sorry for the long wait I was on a few vacations.

It was a peaceful trip on Master Paku's boat. Lin slept with ease in the hammock and dreamt of Zuko. She could feel the pain he was in and wondered how he got that scar on his face. He constantly seemed defeated since he should have been heir to the throne, but for some reason had been exiled instead according to Katara. So far no one had questioned her interest in the firebender. They just assumed she wondered who this boy that kept hunting them down was. Lin couldn't deny she was hurt he didn't remember who she was. Then again who is going to remember someone they met for a week after six years. He had a lot more to deal with compared to herself when the only thing she worried about was trying to learn how to waterbend.

In the morning it was time to part ways and Master Paku gave everyone except Sokka farewell gifts to use on their journey. To Katara he gave special spirit water, Aang received waterbending scrolls, and Lin was given rare healing scrolls, spirit water, and an apology. "I have no doubt you will soon be a master of waterbending like Katara and the finest healer." It felt good to finally be accepted after all the trouble she went through previously with him.

The gang was headed to the Earth Kingdom so Aang could master earthbending. They were told to meet with General Fong at the Earth Kingdom Base for an escort to Omashu to talk to King Bumi. On the way to the base Lin was anxious to look at the healing scrolls. She never thought there was much more to it than using her hands and was surprised to see some extremely advanced techniques.

It ended up being a short flight to the base and they were met by General Fong who gave them the warmest greeting. "Welcome to all of you our great heroes. Appa, Momo, Brave Sokka, the Mighty Katara, and the Fearless Mei-Lin." There was a loud burst behind them and they turned to see fireworks filled the sky in their honor. Obviously their reputation was starting to get around and they appreciated the recognition after risking their lives countless times.

General Fong led them into the castle for a briefing where he talked about Aang being ready to fight the Fire Lord. There was no way Aang reached his full Avatar capabilities and still needed more training as the teens tried to tell him. General Fong disregarded the group's concerns stating that Aang is "The Ultimate Weapon."

"He is not a weapon, he is a person" protested Lin. The Avatar was meant to bring peace and balance and General Fong only saw a weapon. Aang did not know how to control the Avatar state, but the General was not giving up "I'll help you figure out how to control the Avatar state and then you'll face your destiny".

This fired up Katara "No! We already have a plan. Aang's pursuing his destiny his way". General Fong brought Aang to a window that overlooked a clinic to show the large amount of soldiers that were lucky to make it back from the war, but they were severely injured. It seemed time was running out. This was the first time Lin and her friends saw how quickly the war was escalating and it made them feel insignificant compared to the heroic greeting they received earlier. The General showed the group to their quarters and gave them some time to think over the urgency of the matter.

Later that night Aang came into the room where they were staying "I told the General I'd help him" Aang said quietly as he sat down.

"Aang no this is not the right way" Katara's voice was filled with concern.

"Why not? Remember when he took out the fire navy? He was incredible." Sokka chimed in.

"There's a right way to do this. Practice, study, discipline" said the girl from the Southern Water Tribe.

"I agree with Katara. Only the Avatar can stop the Fire Lord, but Aang you haven't learned everything there is to being one. You'd be going in unprepared and could seriously get hurt or killed" said Mei-Lin.

Katara grew more upset when Lin mentioned death "If you two meatheads want to throw away everything we worked for, fine. Go ahead and glow it up". Katara left the room for Aang to wallow in his decision.

Lin sat down next to the young airbender and placed her hand on top of his, "I can't even imagine the burden you bare Aang. You are not alone in this and we will do everything we can to help shoulder this weight. Katara is just really worried about you, we all are."

"I know, but her yelling about it isn't helping" Aang slumped over.

"Come, you need your rest if you're going to try to get into the Avatar state" the healer stood up and pulled Aang towards his bed.

"But I'm not tired. I have all these thoughts racing through my head" Aang reluctantly laid down on his bed.

"I can do something about that." Lin placed her hands on top of the Avatar's bald head with some water from her water skin. With her healing she was able to calm the sea of thoughts which was followed by the sound of Aang's snoring.

"Whoa neat trick! Why don't you put me to sleep every night?" asked Sokka.

"Because I would put you in a coma."

The next day General Fong tried to get Aang into the Avatar state with a tea that would give him energy. All it did was make Aang super talkative and whirl around like a crazy tornado. "I guess he could talk the Fire Lord to death" said a frustrated Sokka. Nothing they were trying was working. After a long day of unsuccessful attempts Sokka and Lin retired to their room while Katara and Aang took a walk together outside. "This is getting us nowhere" sighed Sokka. Lin was too lost in her own thoughts to hear the water tribe boy as she wondered how Zuko was doing and was still dealing with the fact that they were enemies.

"Hello! Lin, you got water stuck in your ears."

"Oh sorry, yeah, getting nowhere."

_Ozai had left the palace on war business for a few days and Azula was having a sleepover at Mai's house. Having the palace to herself, Princess Ursa decided to invite her new friends to visit. She knew she was pushing her luck having Water Tribe citizens in the heart of the beast, but she couldn't help but be defiant in her own way. Of course Ursa was taking special precautions as she kept only the servants she trusted and gave everyone else the day off. It was no surprise to the Fire Princess that Yuki turned down her invitation so she sent a palanquin escort. _

_Zuko was beyond thrilled that Lin would be visiting his home and without his antagonizing sister there to bother them. The young prince made sure his room looked extra clean and then turned his attention to his wardrobe. It took him longer to get ready each time he had a play date with the young girl. After the tearful confession he had in the park Zuko was sure that things would be awkward between him and Lin. He showed weakness which his father hated him for, but Mei-Lin accepted it. For the first time the young firebender could be himself to someone else besides his mother. His thoughts were interrupted as his mother knocked on his open door. "They are here sweetie. You ready?" He nodded and took one last look in the mirror before he followed her to the courtyard to greet their guests. _

_Lin was mesmerized by the turtle-ducks in the pond and how beautiful the palace looked, it took her breath away. It was more extravagant than where Princess Yue lived and probably five times larger. As one of the turtle-ducks swam closer Mei-Lin noticed Zuko's distorted reflection in the water and gasped "Zuko!"_

"_You really like turtle-ducks don't cha?" he smirked._

"_They are so cute and you have a whole pond of them!" _

"_Want to feed them?"_

"_Can we?" Lin couldn't hide the excitement in her voice. _

_Zuko had one of the servants bring them some bread and the two kids sat down by the edge of the pond. _

"_You really have a beautiful home even if you don't like it so much" the young waterbender tossed a small piece of bread into the water which was snapped up by a larger turtle-duck. _

"_I know I'm really lucky to live here and it's not the palace that bothers me, but more of what happens within it." _

_After feeding the turtle-ducks Mei-Lin wanted a demonstration of Zuko's firebending, but he was too shy since he knew he wasn't as good as his sister and she made fun of him for it. The waterbender was quite persistent and the prince eventually gave in showing her some fire punches and kicks. The young girl was impressed to see how much heart Zuko put into his bending abilities allowing him precise control over his flames. She wished she had that kind of control over her waterbending as well as be able to open up to Zuko about who she really was. Once his demonstration was over the firebender decided he would give Lin a tour of the palace with his room being the last stop. _

"_Wow your room is so big! Your bed is twice the size of mine" Lin was wide-eyed at all the space Zuko had. _

"_Well I am the prince after all so I should only get the best" Zuko teased and Lin responded by jokingly shoving him. _

"_Hey let's jump on your bed or is that frowned upon by royalty?"_

_Zuko answered with a devilish grin and hopped on top of his bed and then reached out his hand towards Lin to pull her up. Together they couldn't stop giggling as they bounced up and down while having a pillow fight causing feathers to fly everywhere. When Lin tried to dodge one of Zuko's attacks she missed her footing and fell off the bed. The prince quickly dove after her and used himself to break her fall. Lin opened her eyes and was surprised to find Zuko beneath her. They both blushed as their noses practically touched and her hair tickled his face. _

"_Zuko are you ok?" the waterbender asked as she slowly and reluctantly pushed herself off of the prince. _

"_Mostly, I think my hand is a little sprained, but it'll heal in no time." _

_Hearing that Zuko was injured caused Mei-Lin to react instinctively as she waterbended the water from the wash basin beside the bed onto her hand._

_Zuko's mouth dropped open "You're a waterbender!" _

_Lin quickly let the water fall from her hand to the floor. "No, what are you talking about?"_

"_Lin, don't lie to me. It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you."_

_She broke down into tears out of relief that Zuko knew the truth and guilt that she couldn't keep her promise to her mother. The prince drew her in close for a reassuring hug. It wasn't long before Lin opened up about the reason for her travels and the troubles she had at home. He realized they were kindred spirits whom weren't accepted for who they are and were being forced to be something else. _

"_I'm so glad to have met you Zuko and I want to remember this trip forever" the waterbender dried her tears up. _

"_Well we do have an artist here who makes portraits. Want to get a picture of us?"_

_Lin's ice blue eyes lit up and nodded. She knew she would have to travel back home soon and the healer was afraid that she would forget Zuko's face. It took a couple of hours of them sitting next to each other, but Lin knew this portrait was going to be her most prized possession. _

The next morning Lin and Sokka accompanied Aang to see General Fong to tell him that he will continue with his training since he cannot reach the Avatar state with the General's tactics. Aang had talked things over with Katara the night before and it gave him enough confidence to go with his gut. General Fong was not pleased with the Avatar's decision and figured that the best way to force Aang to glow was to fight him.

It was a shocking turn of events as none of them expected the General to go this far. General Fong earthbeneded the ground Aang stood on to throw him out of a window while the guards seized Lin and Sokka. Sokka used his quick wit to stomp on the guards feet while Lin used the water from her pouch to form a whip and sent the guards flying across the room.

The black haired girl rushed down to the courtyard to help the Avatar fight the rest of the guards. She had been training hard on her waterbending techniques, but the earth would soak up any her water attacks. Soon they were joined by Sokka who had left to alarm his sister on the current attack. Before Katara could even reach for her water pouch she became the focus of General Fong's attack as he held her prisoner in quick sand. As she disappeared into the ground this caused Aang to go into his Avatar state. It became clear to Lin that his love for Katara would cause him to protect her in any way he could. The rage and anger the young boy showed was enough to scare even his friends as Lin gave Sokka a worried glance.

General Fong grew scared of the young boy and showed him that Katara was indeed ok and that he never meant to harm her. Aang immediately returned to normal and the guards backed off. The Earth Kingdom Army saw firsthand how dangerous this state was since Aang had no control over it. The earthbenders allowed them to leave to Omashu and get away from the overzealous General Fong.

Katara decided to have a heartfelt talk about Aang and his lack of emotional control of his Avatar state. This left Lin with Sokka which seemed to become an ongoing thing. "Never knew a 13 year old could be so scary" Sokka said as fed Momo.

"Yeah. Hey Sokka...do you think that he may not even be able to tell friend from foe when he's emotional like that?" As much as Lin loved Aang as a brother this was becoming a large concern.

"Nah! Aang would never hurt us. I mean 'c'mon we thought those earthbenders were on our side and looked how that turned out. This war is making people do crazy things" the Water Tribe boy circled his finger by his head.

"I really love your optimism in every situation."

"Don't stop there. Tell me what else do you love about me. My charm, wit, looks, boomerang skills."

"I love when you know to shut up." Lin giggled and so did Momo.

"That's the last time I feed you, stupid lemur."


	8. The Cave of Two Lovers

**Book Two: Earth**

**Chapter 2 **

**The Cave of Two Lovers**

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing Avatar except the characters I create.  
**_

The gang decided to take a break from flying to Omashu and stretch their legs. Lately they were spending more time up in the air then on land and they were running out of things to do besides sitting around. While Sokka took it as a time to rest Katara decided it was best to continue training Lin and Aang on their waterbending. They were working on the octopus form which the Avatar was having trouble forming the stance. It took an hour before the young boy was able to master the moves that Lin already had a strong grasp on. This was mostly due to Aang's playful nature of waterbending fish out of the water.

In the distance the kids could hear music and with each musical note it became louder. It turned out to be a group of travellers that mistook the kids as river people. The man playing the sitar called himself Chong and was travelling with his wife Lily and some companions. They said they were nomads which were something Aang was able to identify with as he was a nomad himself. The nomads didn't seem to be the brightest people they ever met, but had tons of great stories and songs. Lin and her friends sat down for lunch while they listened to Chong talk about a secret love tunnel that would be great shortcut to Omashu.

"Appa hates going underground and we have to do what will make him feel comfortable" Aang stated.

Lin and Sokka were relieved to get away from the singing travellers since that was all they would do, sing a song about anything. They bid the nomads farewell and took the skies until they were severely attacked by the Fire Nation. With their tails between their legs they headed back to the nomads.

"Secret love cave lets go" said an unhappy Sokka.

As they headed to the tunnel the nomads informed them that it was a labyrinth and that they must trust in love to get through or die. Lin had no doubt about her love for Zuko and from the look in Aang's eyes he believed in his love for Katara though the southern waterbender didn't know it. As Aang and his friends entered the cave the Fire Nation soldiers that attacked them earlier blew up the entrance behind them. Mei-Lin wouldn't deny that she started to dread going deeper in the cave.

Sokka took it upon himself to take a map and guide everyone through the caves. After what felt like an eternity his sister grew concerned "Sokka this is the tenth dead end you led us to."

"There is something strange here. There's only one explanation: the tunnels are changing" replied Sokka.

Any other time Lin would have just laughed at the Water Tribe boy for his silly notion, but it made sense as they felt the earth in the cave shift. "Listen" said Lin.

Out of the dark and damp corridor of the cave ahead a wolf-bat flew at them causing chaos. Appa accidently was burned on his arm when the nomads tried to scare away the bat with a flaming torch. The bison flung around bashing into the walls of the cave causing it to cave in. Aang saved everyone by blowing them away from the falling debris, but resulted in the group being separated by large boulder. Aang was on one side with Katara and Appa and Sokka became disheartened that he was stuck with the annoying nomads. He unsuccessfully tried to dig his way back to his sister and friend.

"Don't worry Sokka, I'm still here" said Lin trying to comfort him. The young boy jumped on top of Lin squeezing her as if she was his only salvation. "Sokka…. I… can't …. breathe."

Chong and his friends could make the best out of any situation and decided to sing a tale of their travels through the dark cave. They only sounded louder with the acoustics echoing throughout the tunnel. Both Sokka and Lin decided to walk ahead of Appa lighting the way while at the same time doing their best to distance themselves from the musicians riding on the sky bison's back.

"By any chance you don't happen to love me so we can get out of this stupid cave do you?" asked a sulky Sokka.

"Nope."

"Just checking" he shrugged.

"Do you think the stories are true about this love cave?" Lin took out some bread from her backpack to snack on and offered a piece to Sokka.

"I..I dunno. Normally I don't believe in old stories, but that all changed when I met Aang. Around him it seems like anything is pahsable." The boy from the Water Tribe stuffed his mouth with stale bread before he could finish his sentence.

"Yeah meeting you guys was definitely a life changer." If it wasn't for them Lin would have never learned to waterbend and would be too ashamed to ever return home. "So since we are in a secret love cave and all how about you tell me what happened between you and Princess Yue." The black haired girl started to walk backwards in front of Sokka and watched his face as he started to blush.

"What is there to say except she was my first girlfriend who then turned into the moon!" He lowered his eyes to the ground and heard Chong start to sing a song about the moon after hearing his outburst.

Mei-Lin couldn't hold in her chuckle as she started to walk forward again. "How could she have been your girl when she was engaged to someone else?"

The question really upset the boy with the ponytail as he stopped in his tracks and stamped his foot down. "Well it may not have been official, but that doesn't deny how we felt about each other. Yue didn't want to marry that jerk! If you had only seen how tormented she was between her feelings and her duty. Even though we only knew each other for a short while we still really loved each other."

Lin was shocked by his reaction and felt bad for teasing him. There was no denying that what he said was true. She could remember when the non-bender volunteered for a secret mission it caused Yue to shed a tear. "I'm so sorry Sokka. I wasn't trying to make a joke of it. It must have been hard for you to lose her and you never really opened up to us about it."

Sokka continued walking with Lin following right behind him. "I don't know how to talk about it. It's like she's gone, but then she's not because she is a spirit so she's everywhere. Yue and I met in secret a lot so I get that you guys wouldn't believe that a princess would want anything to do with me. Anyways don't worry about it. I feel better already talking to you about it."

"You can talk to me about anything."

"Anything huh? Let's turn the tables then and put you on the spotlight. So since we are in a secret love cave you have any old flames that turned into a spirit of some kind?" Sokka mimicked Lin's tone from before.

"I wouldn't call them an old flame and they definitely didn't turn into a spirit, but it does feel like he is everywhere." There was no way she was going to tell her friend it was Zuko, but she could be vague on the details.

"Uh-huh." Sokka was eager to hear more.

"Let's just say I met this guy when we were younger and it was the same deal as you and Yue. We were both from different worlds and fell for each other in the short time we were together. It was kind of a summer thing when I went away on vacation. I ran into him years later and he doesn't even recognize me. In fact he's become a completely different person." Lin's voice became more solemn as she explained her feelings for Zuko.

"Now I see why you're not attracted to me. I can't compete against years of you wanting to be with this guy. Looks like we both got the short end of the stick."

Lin turned to look at Sokka with her ice blue eyes and together they had an unspoken moment. They were both heartbroken in their own way and were able to finally come clean about it. Sokka opened up his arms to Lin as she gave him a long loving embrace. Just before separating she gave him a kiss on the cheek and was expecting some sort of remark about her having secret feelings for him. There was none.

_Someone had found out about Yuki and Mei-Lin origins and the word was spreading that enemies from the Water Tribe were living in the Fire Nation. Ursa had overheard her handmaidens talking about it and had no idea how they were found out. Nobody seemed to know that Zuko and she were associated with them nor Yuki and Mei-Lin's identity. It was possible that no one may ever figure out who belongs to the Water Tribe, but she wasn't going to take that risk. The princess decided that she would help her friends escape and make it back safely to the North Pole. During their last get together Ursa managed to convince Yuki to open up to her about who she truly was. She had never seen such fear in a person's eyes like when she told Lin's mother that she knew they were from the Water Tribe. _

_Zuko was alone in his room reading a book when his mother entered and closed the door behind her. The young prince had kept Lin's secret, but when his mother told him that she was from the Water Tribe he told her he already knew. Zuko was surprised to hear that he was going to have to say goodbye otherwise they might be captured and kept locked up like slaves. He didn't want Mei-Lin to leave, but he didn't want her to be hurt either. If he knew Mei-Lin was from the Water Tribe before he really got to know her then he may have turned her in so that his father would be proud of him. They didn't seem as rebellious or dangerous as everyone made waterbenders to be. In fact Zuko was able to open up and be accepted by a person that should be his enemy. He was confused by everything the Fire Nation had taught him, but he didn't want to think about that right now. The girl he loved was going to be gone from his life and most likely forever. _

_At the fabric shop it was a normal day for Yuki as she was finishing up an order of carpets for the neighbors down the road. Lin was making lunch for her mother in the half kitchen in the back of the store. As she was about to serve her mother she noticed a woman enter the shop and handed Yuki a letter. Her mother turned pale once she read it and quickly rolled it up and tucked it into her robes. Yuki rushed to talk to the store owner who was packing up the finished orders. "Rei, I know this is going to put you in a rough position, but my husband has returned from battle and gravely injured. I must get back home to the colonies immediately and I don't think I will be returning." _

_Rei was more sympathetic than angry as she too had lost her husband to the war. The shop keeper gave Yuki and Mei-Lin a farewell hug and some extra coin for the journey home. _

_On the way to the Flaming Dragon Inn Yuki was pulling her daughter to walk quickly. _

"_Mom what's wrong? Why did you lie to Rei? Is something really wrong with daddy?" asked a concern Lin. _

"_Your father is fine sweetie." Yuki tried to give her daughter a reassuring smile even though her face was still white as a ghost. _

_Yuki didn't explain the letter until they were safely inside their room and started packing. The letter was from Ursa warning about a search for two people from the Water Tribe and that they must leave at once. The cover story was written on the parchment as well as when a carriage would be sent to the inn to take them to the docks. Lin became just as scared as her mother because she knew how the Fire Nation dealt with waterbenders. _

_As they waited for the carriage outside the inn the young waterbender realized that she was never going to see Zuko again. She wished they had the chance to say goodbye as tears welled up in her eyes Lin hugged her stuffed turtle-duck. After waiting in the sweltering sun for a few minutes a carriage rolled up to the entrance of the inn and the driver opened the door for the two ladies. Yuki and Lin were pleasantly surprised to see that Ursa and Zuko were inside. _

_It was a quiet ride after Yuki repeatedly thanked Ursa for helping them, but Ursa believed she had more to be grateful for. Zuko held Lin's hand throughout the ride in hopes that it would comfort her. He had never seen such fear in her pale blue eyes. When he noticed that she was hugging the present he won for her it made him smile. _

_At the docks their parents gave the children some time to say their goodbyes before the boat left port. _

"_I don't want to leave." Lin looked out towards the ocean watching the waves. _

"_I don't want you to leave either. You're the only girl that I like to play with that doesn't annoy me." _

_Lin giggled "Well you found me annoying in the beginning."_

"_Yeah but I was being dumb, literally a royal pain like my sister. Do you think you will ever come back?" Zuko hoped she would say yes. _

_There was a long pause before she answered as the tears she was holding back the whole time began to run down her cheeks like a river. "…No." _

_Zuko heard the sniffles and realized that Mei-Lin was crying. He reached out to hug her and he never wanted to let her go. _

_The boat was allowing passengers to board and that meant it was time to say one last goodbye. As Zuko let go of her she gave him a kiss on the lips which caught him by surprise. Lin was in love with Zuko as he was the most handsome and sweetest boy she had ever met. When she broke their kiss she hoped he would say something like a declaration of love of some sort, but there was nothing but silence. She felt embarrassed and ran off towards her mother. _

_The prince was caught in a daze and felt stupid for not saying anything to her. There was no way he could let her get on that boat broken hearted. He chased after her and grabbed her by the arm forcing her to face him. He wanted to tell Mei-Lin he loved her, but no words would come out so he let his actions speak and kissed her back. They were only tap kisses, but there was so much meaning in them. Lin smiled and then she was gone._

After walking for what seemed like forever another strange sound came from the cave. This time instead of one wolf-bat it was a large swarm and to make matters worse right behind them were two giant badger moles. Lin didn't want to waterbend and hurt these innocent creatures and couldn't think of anything else to do. As everyone scrambled to dodge the badger-moles attacks Sokka accidentally fell on the sitar Chong dropped during the commotion causing a musical note to play. The note echoed loudly and the earthbending moles suddenly stopped moving. "Sokka they like music!" yelled Lin. Sokka tossed the sitar to Chong so the nomads could play their songs as the badger-moles lead them out to an exit. Once outside in the fresh air they caught up with a different Aang and Katara then they left with.

"Hey how did you guys get out?" asked Lin.

"We followed love" said Aang proudly while Sokka pointed at the badger moles "We let ferocious beasts guide us".

It was great to finally part with the nomads as they were way too mellow about everything and would only slow down their pace. The Avatar with his friends continued their hike to Omashu. Once they made it to the top of the mountain they were relieved to be almost be at the city. The only problem was that it already belonged to the Fire Nation as their flags covered Omashu.


	9. Return to Omashu

**Book Two: Earth**

**Chapter 3 **

**Return to Omashu**

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing Avatar except the characters I create. **_

Smoke was rising from Omashu and the Fire Nation flags were waving in the air from the strong breeze being filtered in by the surrounding mountains. Katara and Sokka decided it might be best to move on to Bang Sing Se, but there was no way Aang would leave his friend Bumi. He knew of a secret tunnel to get into the city which turned out to be a disgusting sewer. Everyone but Sokka exited the manhole sludge free and the water tribe boy shuffled along like a zombie to be funny. Lin waterbended some water from a nearby bucket to wash it off while Aang dried him with a gust of wind. Stuck on Sokka's face were purple pentapus' that left round pox like marks on his face. The healer actually thought they were kind of cute looking as she helped pull them off.

Out of the shadows walked a handful of Fire Nation guards "What are you doing out after curfew?" Before anyone could answer one of the guards noticed the marks on Sokka's face "What is that?"

Katara was a quick thinker and told the guards that it was a disease called pentapox. The water tribe boy pretended to be deathly ill and it scared the guards away as they thought it was a disease people actually died from. Now there was nothing to get in the way of finding Bumi.

As the group travelled in the cover of night the Avatar noticed a random boulder rolling down the hill towards a group of people at the bottom. With a large puff of air the young boy saved whoever was below. Unfortunately it turned out to be ungrateful Fire Nation citizens who started to attack them. One of them, a young woman came at them with lightning speed throwing shuriken and daggers, for a non-bender she was quite skilled. Lin blocked some of the attacks with an ice wall and then melted the water throwing the daggers back. It was becoming more difficult for the gang to block her attacks in the dark when suddenly the ground beneath them swallowed them whole.

It was members of the Earth Resistance that saved them from being turned into swiss cheese. The leader told the teens about Bumi's surrender and how they couldn't get out of Omashu to see refugee. The citizens of the Earth Kingdom knew there was no way they could take back their home right now. Surprisingly Sokka came up with another one of his rare ideas to give them all the case of the pentapox which should allow them to escape. Katara and Lin went to the sewers and waterbended as many pentapus' as they could find out of the sludge. "I can't believe your brother is a secret genius. Sometimes I wonder if he is just playing dumb."

"Ha! That would be too smart even for him. I noticed you two seem to be getting along better." Katara placed five more of the squid like creatures in a bucket.

"We came to an understanding. As long as he stopped flirting with me I don't care what kind of antics he pulls. But he really is a sweet guy."

Throughout the night pentapus' were placed on everyone so that in the morning the Fire Nation would panic and let them leave. The plan worked without a hitch as the guards wanted to get rid of the plaque before it spread to them.

Aang decided to find Bumi on his own, but after hours with no luck he met up with everyone outside of Omashu where he discovered that the Fire Nation Governor's son somehow tagged along with the citizens of Omashu.

"How can nobody notice that their own son is missing for this long?" The girl with the braided hair spoke angrily, but quickly changed her tune as she cooed at the little boy. While the three teens from the Water Tribe did their best to entertain the baby boy the Governor sent a messenger to their camp. He thought they kidnapped his son and asked for a trade, Bumi for the boy. Though they didn't appreciate being called kidnappers they considered themselves lucky for catching a break.

The next morning Aang and his friends went to Omashu for the tradeoff with Lin carrying the little boy. When they arrived the northern waterbender noticed some familiar faces, one was Zuko's sister Azula and the girl that attacked them last night whom they learned was called Mai. According to the boy's sister she did not deem the trade fair since it was a powerful earthbender for a baby "The deals off!".

Bumi was encased in a large metal prison and was being raised by a crane away from everyone. Aang used his glider and airbended up to the top of the crane to try and save his friend. Azula fire bended a blue flame at Aang as he got on his glider. The turban he had been wearing to disguise himself unraveled and fell to the floor. Azula seeing that Aang was the Avatar started to pursue him.

"We got to get the baby out of here!" Katara yelled.

"One step ahead of you!" said Sokka as he was blowing into the air bison whistle to call Appa.

Mai put on a full assault throwing daggers which Lin blocked with pieces of wood from the floor and threw it at the girl, but she dodged it. She was getting very tired of this ninja like girl and couldn't believe she was attacking her while she held her brother. As Sokka tried to run away he was attacked by a girl in pink from under the floor. Katara used a water whip to pull her away from her brother.

As expected Mai threw more knives that Mei-Lin blocked with another ice wall, but this time she enveloped the girls hand in water and turned it to ice. The acrobatic girl Katara was fighting dodged one of the waterbender's attacks, flipped over her and then hit her in various places. This caused Katara to not be able to waterbend. Lin was stunned wondering what she did to Katara and was afraid it would happen to her next. 'How can she stop someone from bending?' the girl with ice blue eyes thought. She held the boy tighter to her chest as he was her only leverage against losing her bending.

"How are you going to fight without your bending" asked the monotone ninja who was now free after the girl in pink broke the ice off her hand. Just as Mai was about to attack a boomerang hit her hand "I seem to manage" said Sokka who was riding on top of Appa.

Appa landed and blew the two fire nation girls away. The two waterbenders quickly boarded Appa and saw from the skies that Aang had Bumi and was being chased by Azula. It looked like he was surfing on top of Bumi's coffin shaped cell down the transportation slides. He disappeared into a tunnel and they met up with him on the other side, but he was alone. Apparently the King wanted to stay prisoner and Aang would have to find another master. Later that night the team was ready to move on though they felt defeated. There was just one last piece of business they needed to take care of. In the cover of night the Avatar returned the Governor's son before heading out to find an earthbending master.

"That little boy was so cute! Katara you were especially good with him." Lin sat in the back of the saddle watching Omashu get smaller as they flew over the Earth Kingdom.

"I had a lot of practice. Even though Sokka is older than me I took care of him after our mom died." The girl from the south touched her necklace and had a forlorn look in her eyes.

"You would be a great mom. How many kids do you hope to have one day?"

"Hmmm, I never thought about it. Two sounds like a good number. What about you Lin?"

She always envisioned a family with Zuko, having a palace overrun with children. It was a silly unrealistic dream on her part. As each day passed Lin realized that she would have to lower her expectations and settle for someone else. "Four or more. Growing up as an only child wasn't all that fun."

Everyone's eyes widened when Lin mentioned that she wanted a handful of children.

"Then you and Aang should start a family. He needs to repopulate the world with airbenders anyways." Sokka winked at the Avatar.

The waterbending master tensed at her brother's suggestion and the fact that Aang was blushing.

"Uh….uhh I think I hear Appa calling me. Be right there boy!" The young boy dashed to the sky bison's neck and picked up the reigns pretending to guide him.

"Sokka, why do you always have to make things awkward? Anyways, I'm getting some sleep." The black haired girl curled up in the back corner of the saddle and Momo curled up next to her.

Katara followed suit leaving Sokka to look around and shrug his shoulders "I thought it was kind of funny."

_It felt like it had been ages since Mei-Lin saw the tall ice walls that guarded her home. Even though the journey was bittersweet the little healer was excited to see her father again. Everyone in the village seemed surprised to see Yuki and her daughter return in one piece. They were obviously the talk of the village, but they didn't care. As they walked closer to their house Lin noticed her mother's steps were slowing. Yuki looked just as nervous as the day she received the letter from Princess Ursa. She could imagine how furious Kaito would be at her for taking a stupid risk with their daughter's life. _

_Kaito saw the two silhouettes outside his window and smiled. He knew they had finally come home and rushed outside to meet them. In one fell swoop he grabbed his wife and daughter and began to cry tears of joy. _

_Lin's father let them unpack and settle in while he cooked up a special meal. As they ate Yuki and Mei-Lin talked endlessly about their journey and all the exciting people they met. Kaito was in such disbelief over what he heard that he didn't even touch his food. He was unsure of what to feel about the whole ordeal. Anger at his wife for letting their daughter get so close to the royal family and putting them in danger was battling amazement and pride for how cunning they were to make it back. _

_In the days that followed Yuki and Kaito had a renewed passion in their relationship which they hadn't felt for years. Lin's mother didn't realize how much she missed the Water Tribe and all its small comforts. She decided to take up fabric designing as a new career path except this time she was adding small elements of the Fire Nation to her designs. _

_Everything was normal for everyone except Mei-Lin. After being gone only a few weeks it seems that all her friends moved on without her. They had secret jokes she couldn't understand and all the kids seemed to have formed new circles of friends for whatever childish reasons. None of them were interested in hearing about her journey and eventually even Lin's parents grew tired of the subject. The young waterbender was disconnected from the world. _

_As months passed her depression only grew as she constantly thought of Zuko and wondered if he thought of her. Lin's father was flushed with anger every time he walked by her room and saw her staring at the painting of her and the prince. He finally hit his boiling point and told her that she had to put all her treasures of that time away or he would burn it. Though his words were harsh he only meant well. Kaito knew there was no one his daughter would ever be with the prince of the Fire Nation. All he wanted was for her to live her life and not waste it. He thought of setting up an arranged marriage which Yuki was vehemently against. So they settled for making play dates as a way to help Lin re-enter society. _

_Mei-Lin knew her parents meant well so she complied and decided to turn her passion for Zuko back towards learning how to waterbend. Though deep down she still wouldn't give up hope. _

_In the Fire Nation Zuko was hit just as hard by the lack of Mei-Lin's companionship. The palace halls felt empty even though they were crowded. He was back to being at his mother's side since his father wouldn't have him. There was no one he could vent his frustrations to and he didn't want to keep depending on his mother for moral support. _

_One day Zuko was done with his firebending training in the palace dojo and just sat alone in the empty room. He kept igniting and extinguishing a flame in his right hand while keeping his mind blank. _

"_You seem more depressed than usual. Azula pestering you again?"_

_Zuko turned to see Mai leaning against the wooden door frame and her arms folded across her chest. She rarely ever talked to him except when Azula or Ty Lee weren't around, which was also rare. _

"_No. Well no more than usual" Zuko looked back down at the flame in his hand. _

"_Oh ok. So sulking is just your new thing." Mai turned to walk away until Zuko spoke up. _

"_I just miss my friend. It was nice having someone around I could actually talk to." The prince didn't want to give any more details about Mei-Lin and how he felt about her. He didn't trust Mai since she was best friends with his sister. _

"_You had a fight?"_

"_They moved back home to the colonies."_

_Mai didn't ask any more questions. Instead she just sat down a few feet away from Zuko and they both sat in silence until she heard Azula requesting her presence. Whenever Mai had a few moments to spare she would just sit quietly around Zuko in hopes that he wouldn't feel as lonely anymore. _


	10. The Swamp

**Book Two: Earth**

**Chapter 4 **

**The Swamp**

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing Avatar except the characters I create. **_

For some reason this trip was more weary on Lin than her previous travels. It could be the fact that she was part of a serious mission or the countless hours spent sitting on the air bison, Appa. What cheered her up was the thought of how close she felt to her friends and started to think of them as family with everything they had been through together. They had joked together and shared stories of their childhood. With so many intimate details out in the open Sokka, Katara, and Aang became the closest friends the healer ever had. It finally dawned on her just how important this journey was. She was helping the Avatar. Someone thought to be long gone for 100 years and now she is helping him save the world. When Lin left her home in the North Pole the second time her parents had tears of pride. So much was changing and Lin was able to be part of it.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by Sokka who noticed that we were flying lower than usual. Aang who was dazing off mentioned that the swamp below felt like it was calling him. The group agreed the swamp was omitting a strange feeling they thought would be best to ignore. It seemed a random tornado had better plans. They were sucked into the tornado despite Aang's best efforts to create a barrier of wind. The tornado threw them into the murky swamp.

"Where's Appa and Momo?" asked the Avatar after they crash landed. There was no sign of them anywhere. As they looked around the swamp looked quite eerie as if the trees around them were growing or moving closer.

After some hesitation the gang moved forward to find their furry companions. Sokka was recklessly cutting through the tall thick grass to make a path when Aang nervously said "Maybe we should be a little nicer to the swamp."

Sokka just mocked him, but Lin could sense something. "Maybe Aang is right. It feels like the forest is alive" commented Lin.

The darkness crept in slowly as it became night time and the fog thickened. Visibility was terrible and they decided it would be best to camp. Lin and her friends sat in silence eyeing the darkness as if they expected a terrifying creature to come launching towards them. After smelling terrible swamp gas and hearing a bird that sounded like a person screaming they decided to make a fire. Lin was scared, but didn't want to cozy up with Aang to stir up any kind of jealousy so reluctantly she sat closer to Sokka, whom she hoped wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"Does anyone else get the feeling that we are being watched?" asked Katara.

"I have had that feeling all day, but didn't want to say anything." answered Lin as she stared into the darkness of the forest.

"Please there is nothing out here" exclaimed an annoyed Sokka. Then a bright round orb appeared and showed countless eyes staring at them through the trees.

Lin bit her lower lip and shut her eyes hoping it was her imagination. The group did eventually fall asleep huddled in a circle until they were abruptly pulled away from each other with vines. Lin used her waterbending to make ice daggers that sliced the vines off of her and ran into the fog, but she couldn't find her friends. Now she was even more scared. "Aang, Sokka, Katara?" The only answer was silence.

As she walked deeper into the forest she thought she heard something up ahead.

"Guys is that you?"

She saw a flash of red run through the trees. She chased after it stumbling over tree roots and swatting away branches and then she saw Zuko standing right in front of her.

"Zuko? What are you doing here?" As she approached him she noticed he looked upset.

"What do you want?! You think I want a waterbending peasant following me around!? Leave me alone!"

Tears welled up in her eyes and as she blinked them away Zuko was gone. Was the forest playing tricks on her? Before Lin could think any more of it Katara, Aang, and Sokka landed on top of her. "Ow!" she screamed.

"Where were you guys!" yelled Sokka.

"Looking for you!" his sister yelled back.

Aang admitted that he wasn't looking for them, but chasing some girl wearing a dress he didn't know. Katara admitted that she thought she saw her mother.

"Look we were all just scared and hungry, and our minds were playing tricks on us. That's why we all saw things out here" explained the Water Tribe boy who was rubbing his butt from the rough landing.

"You saw something too?" his sister asked. Yue had appeared to Sokka.

"Lin did you see someone too?" the young Avatar asked.

"Yes. A boy I once knew." There was no way she would tell them it was Zuko, but Sokka gave her a glance as he figured it must have been the boy she talked about in the secret love cave.

Sokka tried to rationalize these visions, but Aang believed they were led to the center of the swamp on purpose. Next to them out popped a giant creature from the water which started attacking them. The giant vine beast grabbed at Sokka, but Katara and Lin tag teamed against it. They were able to get Sokka out by Katara forming a ball of water around him and Lin froze it to blast him out. Katara noticed there was a person controlling the vines from inside and was using waterbending to control it. The swamp man stopped attacking once he realized Aang was the Avatar.

The man explained how everything in life is connected and that the swamp was really one giant tree. He also told them that their visions were people they had lost and the forest shows that they are still connected to them.

"But the person I saw wasn't dead" said Lin.

"Then you feel disconnected from the person you saw." That was exactly how she felt, disconnected. After a deep discussion about time being an illusion the Avatar used the tree to find Appa and Momo.

Aang and his companions caught up with the people that captured Appa who turned out to be waterbenders. Together they sat around a fire and had dinner before moving on with the rest of their adventure. It turned out to be a very enlightening day for the Avatar.

_A few years had now passed and the world beyond the walls was becoming unsafe as the Fire Nation armies grew. New was spreading that their new conquest was the Earth Kingdom. So far the Northern Water Tribe had been lucky enough to thwart the Fire Nation unlike their sister tribe in the south. They formed large barricades and had guards ready for any boat that came to close to finding their city. _

_With the war getting worse Lin couldn't understand why women still weren't allowed to waterbend. Didn't it make sense to have larger armies of waterbenders by letting women fight? Lin had tried asking her guy friends to teach her secretly, but they all refused because they were afraid of Master Paku finding out. _

_The black haired girl already mastered healing and was now helping her teacher train young girls. She even branched out towards sprits as Lin was able to soothe their anger and heal their spiritual wounds. Now if she could only calm the turmoil within herself. She grew bored of her home because of all the limitations placed on her and no one seemed to understand that except her mother. Kaito thought maybe arranging a marriage would help snap Lin back to reality, but that was quickly shot down by both women in his life. In fact many boys had tried to win over Lin, but were quickly put off by her persistent begging to learn waterbending. In fact she grew quite the reputation. _

_Lin's head was also spinning with the news of the war. She worried about Zuko and wondered if he would take part in enslaving the world like his grandfather was. He didn't seem that way as he was a carefree kid, but things change. There had been times when she contemplated writing the prince a letter, but knew it would only cause trouble. Instead she wrote all her thoughts down and kept it to herself. _

_It was another typical day after school as she headed out to her secret spot outside the main walls of the city. Lin would try to each herself how to waterbend away from prying eyes. She hoped that if she was able to master the basics then maybe she could convince Master Paku to change the rules and allow her to become one of his students. After all this time all she could accomplish were small icicles out of the snow. Ice was easier to manipulate opposed to large amounts of water which she could only make small ripples. _

_Mei-Lin was always joined by her close friend Isatok who was a nonbender. He always warned her that what she was doing was dangerous and one day she would get herself hurt. The waterbender never appreciated his commentary and made it known that he could always leave. After that he would try to be more encouraging, but he mostly stayed to make sure she was safe since he was deeply fond of her. _

"_How about one of these days we actually hang out like the normal kids?" Isatok asked as he was doing his homework. _

"_Isa! I told you I need to concentrate. Uhhh….I guess I could take a break. What do you want to do anyways?" the waterbender dropped a small handful of water back into the ocean. _

"_I dunno. I'll come up with something." _

_In the Fire Nation tensions were rising as they expanded the war effort. Zuko had finished his training with Master Piandao where he mastered wielding dual swords. He took pride in this feat since he firebending was nowhere near the caliber of his sister Azula. His own father even mocked his lack of abilities. In fact his father thought Zuko was a nonbender and was going to kill him. The Prince couldn't understand how his father could tell him such things. _

_Zuko wanted to become part of the war effort and always asked to join in on the war council as he figured it was his duty. Even though he wasn't an accomplished firebender he mastered sword fighting which he felt was just as necessary for battle. He wasn't sure what he could do anymore to get his father to approve of him just once. Azula continued to be the rising star in the family and it caused her to distance herself even more from her brother. _

_With his uncle and cousins out fighting in the Earth Kingdom the only person Zuko could spend time with was his mother. Lately she seemed more distressed than usual, but whenever her son was around her face became as bright at the sun. Mai would still secretly visit him from time to time when Azula was off being the firebending prodigy. _

_One day the black haired prince was practicing with his dual dao swords in the garden as he hacked at straw figures shaped like people. His training was interrupted when a knife darted by him and hit the straw figure in the head. Quickly he whipped his head back to see Mai standing 10 feet away in her usual poised manner. _

"_Did you just throw that?" Zuko's voice was a little shrill with surprise. _

"_What if I did?" Mai shrugged. _

"_Well you could have hit me!" the price pulled out the knife from the straw head and noticed how sharp it was. _

"_No I wouldn't. Don't be a baby" the young black haired girl walked towards Zuko to reclaim her weapon. _

"_Yes you could."_

"_If it was the other way around would you have hit me?" asked Mai. _

"_No."_

"_And why is that?" _

"_Because I'm well trained" the prince slightly pointed his chin up proud of his skills. _

"_As am I. What do you think girls can't master a weapon? Look at Azula who already mastered firebending" her face continued to remain emotionless throughout the conversation._

_Zuko knew Mai had a point as she poured salt in his wounds by mentioning his sister. _

"_I just never thought you would learn to fight" Zuko wiped the sweat that was developing over his brow. _

"_I was bored." _

_They decided to test out their skills on each other as Zuko used his blades to block off Mai's attacks. He was quite impressed by her skills and he noticed that Mai had a small smile on her face as they danced in combat. _

_It was short lived as his sister arrived to claim her best friend. _

"_Sorry you had to babysit poor Zu-zu. Father wanted to show off my firebending to his generals. They said I would be an excellent commander when I am older" the princess flicked her hair back and gave an evil smirk towards her brother before pulling Mai away. _

_Zuko and Mai shared a short lived glance that made both of them blush as the young girl was pulled into the palace. _


	11. Avatar Day

**Book Two: Earth**

**Chapter 5 **

**Avatar Day **

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing Avatar except the characters I create. **_

It was almost daylight and the four heroes were sound asleep. Lin was dreaming of Zuko and as he was about to kiss her when the waterbender felt a giant earthquake. Her lovely dream was disrupted as she quickly sat up from her sleeping bag to see Fire Nation guards on rhinos. They all scrambled towards Appa, but Katara and Aang forgot their scrolls and staff. Lin tried to hold off the guards by sending out water whips, but their deft movements allowed them to quickly dodge. At best she was giving a small distraction as the two quickly retrieved their belongings while dodging the firebenders attacks. As they were flying away Sokka realized he forgot his boomerang and wanted to go back and get it.

"We don't have time for that" said an adrenaline filled Katara.

"So we had time to get your scrolls and Aang's staff, but not my boomerang." "That's right."

"Oh".

Katara really had a way with her brother.

Sokka was still down in the dumps about his boomerang as the travellers landed in a nearby village to buy some produce. As they were leaving the store the shop keeper said "Happy Avatar Day!" Of course this piqued Aang's interest since he thought it was a good thing for the Avatar to be appreciated.

"C'mon guys let's go check it out" Aang turns around to see a large statue of Avatar Kiyoshi slowing pass by.

"Out of all the festivals I have been to I have never seen one for the Avatar. Wonder if its spiritual?" Lin asked herself as she put her forefinger to her lips.

Together they went to see the festival and saw floats of Avatar Kyoshi, Roku, and even Aang.

They were surprised to find that it wasn't an appreciation festival as the townspeople started chanting "Down with the Avatar" and started burning the floats. The group watched in confusion and horror until the people set Aang on fire. Katara became flustered and doused the giant wooden Aang with water. Aang decided to show himself to the crowd and demanded to know why they hated him so much. Apparently Avatar Kiyoshi killed their leader many years ago and the village had not been the same since. That didn't make any sense to them since the Avatar is supposed to help people and bring about peace. The young boy wanted to get to the bottom of this and decided to stand trial for the sins of the previous Avatar. Though his friends thought he should just move on and save the world he refused to leave until proven innocent.

Aang asked the boy from the water tribe to play detective and find clues about what actually happened. Sokka was all too happy to play the part and whipped out a hat with a monocle attached and a dragon pipe. The girls gave each other a puzzling look as they could not figure out where he got these items from. As Aang stayed in prison the rest of the group investigated the crime scene. There wasn't much to go on except a small foot print and that the temple and statue of the village's leader were made at the same time. Both brother and sister thought it best to visit Kiyoshi Island for more information. Lin was ecstatic since she never been there.

Sokka helmed the sky bison while the two waterbenders tried to figure out how to free Aang.

"You are a way better detective than your brother" Mei-Lin had noticed that Katara beat her brother to every deduction which only infuriated him.

"There is just no getting through to him. This investigation would go so much faster if he would put his pride aside" the brown haired girl re-braided her hair which was a sign that she was agitated.

"You feel bad about the boomerang don't you?"

"That obvious that's why I'm playing along?" asked Katara.

"Only to the un-oblivious which turns out to be just the two of us. I think your secret is safe" Lin gave her best friend a warm smile.

The townspeople of Kiyoshi gathered below as they saw Appa coming down to land, but were disappointed that the Avatar was not with them. The three from the Water Tribe explained the situation and the village leader was willing to help by showing them the shrine of Kiyoshi. As they climbed the hill Sokka asked about a girl named Suki who apparently left the village much to the boy's disappointment. Mei-Lin could not understand how many times this boy could fall in love, it just seemed endless.

Once inside the shrine they found it had all of Avatar Kiyoshi's clothes and history. As Sokka pranced around for evidence, Lin was more interested in the history. She figured it was best not to be part of the investigation as Sokka was already getting mad at his sister for beating him at solving the mystery to the point where he even pushed her. It wasn't often she experienced sibling rivalry.

Once they came to the conclusion that Kiyoshi did not kill the town's leader they headed back for the trial. It turned out the evidence when coming out of Aang's mouth did not sound sustainable enough for him to be released. Katara had a brilliant idea of dressing up Aang in Kiyoshi's clothes to maybe summon her spirit to get the real truth. Lin took on the role of the makeup artist and enjoyed putting makeup on Aang. She thought she did a terrific job, he was just adorable as a girl.

"I think you are enjoying this too much" the Avatar pouted.

"Oh c'mon you have never looked more lovely, right Katara?"

"I agree with Lin. You're going to be a hit!"

The girls couldn't see it under Aang's painted white face, but he was blushing.

Aang faced the court in his new threads and makeup and pretended to be Avatar Kiyoshi, but then a large burst of wind surrounded the boy and the real Avatar Kiyoshi appeared. She confessed that she killed the leader when she separated her homeland from the mainland thus creating Kiyoshi Island. The leader ended up falling to his death since he was too stubborn to move. There was no denying that the Avatar was guilty. The townspeople spun the wheel to decide Aang's punishment. His friends held their breath and hoped it would land on community service, but as usual he was not so lucky. The wheel slowed down and the pointer landed on boiling oil. Thankfully that was when the Fire Nation on rhinos called the Rough Rhinos arrived to take over the village. The leader of the town changed the sentence to community service so the Avatar could save them.

It didn't take long for the young heroes to dispatch of the Rough Rhinos and luckily Sokka was able to get his boomerang back.

"Boomerang! You do always come back!" the boy with the ponytail had tears in his eyes as he kissed it.

In return for the village being saved they turned Avatar day into a day of appreciation. To celebrate the Avatar not being boiled in oil they made un-fried dough that resembled Aang. It tasted awful uncooked and Sokka said out loud the exact sentiments the group was feeling "This is by far the worst town we have ever been to."

_One date with Isatok turned into many and eventually Lin made it official. He wasn't the prince of her dreams, but she was fond of him. The brown haired boy was sweet to her and supportive of her self-training. Mei-Lin's parents were happy and thought that she was finally coming around now that their daughter could always be seen smiling. _

_The young couple decided to go out sledding since a new layer of snow had fallen the night before. This was one of their favorite activities as they created large mounds of snow so they could catch some air. There really wasn't much else to do in the city as there weren't many festivals due to war preparations. Most of their other dates were spent going out to eat, romantic gondola rides, fishing, and snowball fights. _

"_So uh… I was wondering if you want to go eat after this. I got reservations at the Aurora Glacier" despite the cold Isatok was visibly sweating._

_Lin's ice blue eyes opened up wide "Isn't that place really fancy and expensive?"_

"_Well yeah, but my brother was supposed to go and his date cancelled so he gave me the reservation. He's paying too" Isatok picked up the sled and held Mei-Lin's hand as they walked about the giant hill._

"_That's generous of him, but I would feel really that he was paying for us" the healer bit her lower lip. _

"_He's totally cool about it. Besides maybe we'll catch a glimpse of Princess Yue there. You know the socialites have to eat the freshest fish" he made a snooty tone and puffed out his chest mimicking one of the worst offenders of the Chief's cabinet. _

_Mei-Lin punched him lightly in his arm and decided why not take an opportunity to dress up. "Ok fine you twisted my arm. I need some time to get ready so I'll see you later" Lin gave him a quick kiss on the lips. _

"_See you later babe!"_

_Two hours later they met at Aurora Glacier. Isatok barely recognized his girlfriend as all her hair was swept up and to the left side. She didn't wear any makeup, but that didn't make her look any less flawless in her tightly wrapped tunic dress. The waiter set them up at a table with a view of the water reflecting the stars in the night sky. _

_They made idle chit chat and mocked many of the patrons as they engulfed their main course. They were waiting for their dessert to arrive when Mei-Lin noticed that Isatok was fidgeting. _

"_Are you ok? You look like you have sea slugs in your pants."_

_Isatok took a deep breath and reached out to hold Lin's hands. "You know me so well. Mei-Lin we been together for over a year and I really care about you. You are the most kind, stubborn, persistent, and beautiful person that I know. When you want something you will stop at nothing until it's yours. These qualities have made me fall in love with you. At first you were my best friend, but you definitely are more than that to me. Now I'm not trying to rush things cause that is not your style so I have this blank betrothal necklace. I want you to know that this is my intention. Where I see us going. Will you let me one day put my mark on this necklace for you?"_

_Time stopped for Mei-Lin as Isatok put the necklace in her hand. The whole time he was speaking she felt she couldn't breathe. The walls closed in on her and the lights seem to go out. She couldn't even look at her potential betrothed and only stared down at the necklace. The only words that resonated with her was 'When you want something you will stop at nothing until it's yours'. She wanted to learn how to waterbend and he was supportive of that. She wanted to eventually go back out into the world and he would probably support that too. Even though she was dating Isatok did she ever plan to marry him or was he just a way of passing time? _

_Looking at the betrothal necklace she saw Zuko's face. Tears welled up in her eyes as Lin thought she was over him. It had been years since she thought of that little boy's face. Suddenly panic turned into anger at herself. When was she going to let him go? Was she going to spend the rest of her life pining over some boy she met over the summer and let it ruin her? Was Zuko what she wanted and she was willing to do anything to have him?_

_No. She didn't need the Fire Prince to live a happy ending. All her life she wanted freedom and to become the greatest female waterbender the North has ever seen. If she was single for the rest of her life it wouldn't phase her. Lin just wanted to live a fuller life than what she had here. Her mother Yuki had given her a glimpse of that life as a kid. Zuko was not only a boy she liked, but he was a symbol to her that she could be herself and be strong without anyone denying her. _

_Lin didn't feel that way with Isatok. "I'm sorry Isatok. I can't. It's over" with those simple words she ran off with the necklace. It became an important symbol for her to never compromise herself. _

_Zuko lost his mother and his world changed forever because of it. No matter how much he investigated he never received a straight answer. It was like his mother had vanished into thin air. Not only did he lose his mother, but he also lost a cousin, and his grandfather. With his father as the new Fire Lord Zuko almost never had access to him. Azula didn't seem to care that their family tree was dying off and almost seemed happy that their mother was gone. _

_The young prince could only mourn to himself until his Uncle Iroh joined him. They started to form a close bond and Iroh treated him like a son. It was nice to have a paternal figure around, but it still wasn't his father. Mai was also another pillar of support for him after the loss of his mom. He could see that she tried her best to show emotion on her stoic face. It made him feel special that he was the only one that could make the governor's daughter smile. _

_He wasn't quite sure if Mai would be considered his girlfriend as they secretly started spending a lot of time together. They both felt messed up due to their royal upbringings and found ways to feel normal around each other. Zuko was definitely quite fond of her, but he made sure to hide that information from his sister who would just use it to torture him. While avoiding Azula and trying to get into his father's good graces Zuko didn't really have much time for anyone else. What he loved about Mai was how understanding she was about him not being around. _

_Without Princess Ursula around Zuko had to grow up quickly and wanted to take on the role of his father's heir. The competition between him and his sister only intensified as if she was fighting for the throne as well. Azula did eventually find out that Mai had a crush on Zuko just by the way she would look at him. It wasn't long before their predictions came true and Azula tried to exploit it. His sister acted out as if she was threatened where she wanted everyone to herself, their father and her friends. Mai's fear of Zuko's sister caused her to see him less, but they often wrote notes to each other that Ty Lee would pass along. _

_Regardless of his personal life Zuko through all his concentration on his firebending and gaining access to the war council meetings. Even though he finally mastered firebending Azula was still the prodigy with her blue flames and lightening. It just wasn't in Zuko and he figured it was because he wasn't as crazy as his sister and that was a good thing. _

It had taken three weeks for Zuko and his uncle to arrive on land after escaping the North Pole. The journey was exhausting leaving a lot of time for the firebending prince to be alone with his thoughts. His failures are what revolved in his head and he felt tired. Tired of being banished and not able to gain his father's respect. To make matters worse once they finally arrived on land Iroh found out they were both labeled traitors to the Fire Nation. Guards were on high alert to arrest them so they were forced to hide in the Earth Kingdom with no money.

The Prince was struggling to survive in the woods with his uncle inside a small cave. In order to blend it with the Earth citizens the two firebenders had to cut off their top knot. After everything else he had lost cutting off some hair didn't really phase Zuko. What he hated most was living like a lowly peasant having to beg for money. Zuko noticed the looks of mockery and did not want to be looked down on. He was a Prince after all. What made him more upset was how easy going his Uncle Iroh was about all of this. Nothing seemed to upset him, even when a pompous stranger made Iroh dance and made fun of his weight. Zuko had enough and decided to become the Blue Spirit and rob the people of the Earth Kingdom. The young firebender's heart was becoming blacker each day as he didn't know what to do with his life.

It didn't take Iroh long to figure out what his nephew was doing and was disappointed by it. Zuko's uncle had hoped that this would be a humbling experience for the young prince and that he could finally learn to be a little carefree. He confronted him telling the boy to not lose hope and at this point capturing the Avatar would not solve their problems. Hearing those words destroyed Zuko even more. What was he to do then? Live like this for the rest of his life? He needed time to think and left his uncle alone in the cave they were living in.

Part of him wanted to just set the world on fire with his rage, but then he would be no better than his sister. He knew he was becoming someone he did not like, but didn't know what to do about it. Zuko came across a stream and sat by the riverbed and looked into the water. He often avoided looking at himself because of his damned scar, but this time he hated the person he saw in the water. Eventually the face in the water transformed into Mei-Lin's. It had been quite some time since he thought of her and it brought a tinge of warmth in his heart. She would not look at him with those kind eyes if she saw the person he was now, a lowly thief. All he knew was that he had to part with his uncle because he could not live like this any longer. He was at risk of becoming something evil and it crept at his insides. Maybe he would find his true self, a person he could look at without disgust. He returned to the cave and bid his uncle farewell.


End file.
